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."