SE Asia urged to rethink tax plans

SE Asia urged to rethink tax plans

MANILA (DPA): The influential Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) has urged Southeast Asia's
battered economies to reconsider tax policies on mechanisms to
reduce financial risk, a statement released in Manila said
yesterday.

"In emerging market economies such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Thailand, there are no clear rules allowing
deductions for losses on hedging instruments," the group of
wealthy countries said in a program for cooperation with
nonmembers.

The OECD also cautioned the beleaguered nations to avoid tax
policies that backtrack from financial and trade liberalization,
viewed as essential if the region is to emerge from its year-long
economic crisis.

The document, released after the conclusion of a nine-day
series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
meetings, said: "Tax policy is a powerful economic tool."