On 4 May 2011, a Forum on Tax Justice was held at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The forum was organized by Action for Economic Reforms, Jubilee South/Asia-Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JSAPMDD), Christian Aid and Perkumpulan Prakarsa.
The forum aimed to provide the basic principles of tax justice and an overview on taxation as a policy area. Specifically, the forum served as a venue to provide updates on specific tax issues such as mineral taxation, tobacco taxes, and regressive taxes; and to link up with other groups interested to engage tax justice issues. We wanted to reach out to a broader audience of civil society advocates in Southeast Asia. The forum was also a building block towards the formal launching of the Southeast Asian Tax Justice Network, which is scheduled in the second half of 2011. Further, one of the tasks of the network is to engage the ASEAN process. Thus, involvement in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference and the ASEAN People’s Forum was very relevant.
Mr. Setyo Budiantoro of Perkumpalan Prakarsa gave the Welcome Remarks. The first topic, Why a Tax Justice Advocacy and Partnership for Southeast Asia?, was discussed by Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III, Coordinator of AER. He was followed by Ms. Lidy Nacpil of JSAPMDD with the topic of Tax Justice as a Component of Fiscal Justice and Progressive Taxation. The next topic, Tax Transparency in the Extractive Industries Sector, was discussed by Ms. Chandra Kirana, Asia Pacific Coordinator of Revenue Watch Institute. Topic 4 was on Tobacco Taxes as a Just Tool for Public Health which was presented by Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. Lastly, Mr. Wahyu Karya Tumakaka, Director of Business Process Transformation of the Directorate General of Taxes of Indonesia talked about How the Indonesian Government Responds to Tax Challenges at the National and Regional Level. An open forum then followed.
To see photos of the event, go to https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150424386327516.456864.361109817515&type=1
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