Tax expenditures, including exemptions, deductions, credits and reduced rates, are among the most widely used tax policy tools, yet they are often costly, poorly governed and subject to limited scrutiny. Revenue foregone through tax expenditures worldwide amounts to around USD 4 trillion annually, equivalent to 3.7% of GDP and 23% of tax revenue on average. Amid growing fiscal pressures, improving the governance of tax expenditures offers governments an opportunity to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and ensure that public resources are directed towards development priorities.
Side event to the World Bank and IMF Annual Meeting 2026
ICTD and IISD are hosting this side event as members of the Coalition on Tax Expenditure Reform (COATE), a global multi-stakeholder initiative launched in 2025 under the Sevilla Platform for Action. This event will bring together government officials, international organisations, researchers and civil society to discuss COATE’s proposal for minimum voluntary standards on reporting, which could support transparency and reform.
- Alexandra Readhead, Director, Tax and Sovereign Debt, IISD
- Chetan Rao, Principal Economic Affairs Officer, UN-DESA
- Giovanni Occhiali, Senior Research Fellow, ICTD
- Juvy Danofrata, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance and Head of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board, Republic of the Philippines
- Matthew Mahama, Advisor to the UK Executive Director, IMF
- Saliou Diallo, Economist, Director General, Strategy and Development Office, Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Budget, Republic of Guinea
This is an invitation-only event, please contact Hande Ayan Khanijo for more information.
ICTD presence in Bangkok
The Annuals present a unique opportunity to connect with global leaders from governments, industry, international and multilateral organisations and civil society. In what ICTD describes as the tax era of development, domestic resource mobilisation is playing a central role to how lower-income countries finance their development priorities, in the face declining aid flows, rising debt burdens and growing financing needs. Discover our other activities at the Annuals.
