Tax Cut 14: APTU Meeting in Bangkok, March 1-2

The Asia-Pacific Taxpayers Union (APTU) meeting will be held in Bangkok this coming March 1-2. I got this notice and invite from a good friend, the Chairman of APTU and Sec-Gen. of the World Taxpayers Association (WTA, http://worldtaxpayers.org/), Mr. Bjorn Tarras-Wahlberg.

I met Bjorn first time in Seoul, S. Korea in October 2006 for the APTU meeting. I was then an official of the Philippine Taxpayers Union (PTU) headed by Mr. Veredigno "Vernie" Atienza. Photo here from left: Bjorn, Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reforms (ATR, http://atr.org) during the Pacific Rim Policy Exchange in October 2009 in Singapore.

I realized I could not do my function well with PTU as I was also busy with Minimal Government Thinkers, so I told Vernie that I have to leave PTU but will work with it in its main advocacy -- to have a low, flat income tax (corporate and personal) in the Philippines. Abolition of income tax is actually possible as the government has dozens of various consumption-based and business taxes and fees, both national and local government units.

Bjorn came to Manila a few  times in 2009 and 2010. I was able to join him and Vernie in his meeting with former DOF Secretary Gary Teves (my former boss in Congress and in Think Tank, Inc.) and at Bjorn's talk at the Rotary Club of Rizal West, among his other activities here.

Additional photo also during the Singapore conference in 2009, Mr. Kim Sun-taek (middle), President of the Korea Taxpayers Association (KTA); the girl beside her was his English interpreter as Mr. Kim does not speak English. Next to Mr. Kim is Jargal Dambadarjaa of the Mongolians for Fair Taxes and Wise Spending, and Ms. Jamie White, then head of the Grassroot Institute Hawaii.

I told Bjorn that I cannot attend the Bangkok meeting this coming March due to my limited financial resources now. But I will try to blog and write about this important meeting. Below is the conference agenda and other details.
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Asia-Pacific Taxpayers Union Conference 1-2 March 2013
                      Hows to get Members & Money
                                  Pan Pacific Service Suites,
                  Eight Thonglor, Sukhumvit Soi 55, Bangkok

All taxpayers associations in the world, and their specialists, are invited to the Asia-Pacific Taxpayers Union Conference in Bangkok for a 2-days meeting, Friday-Saturday March 1-2. 

No Conference Fee.

Arrival: Thursday Feb 28. Welcome Drinks from 7 p.m. followed by dinner.
Departure: Sunday March 3 or when it suites you. Earlier arrival and longer stays are possible.

Regional meetings for taxpayers associations in Asia and the Pacific have taken place since 1995. In this part of the world you find taxpayers associations in Australia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Pakistan, South Korea and Turkey.

Agenda: Friday 1 – Saturday 2 March

1. Presentations with information of latest achievements from participating associations
2. The 100-years history of taxpayers associations (Mr Bjorn T-W, World Taxpayers Associations
3. “Replace Income Tax by Consumption Tax” (Mr Bjorn T-W)
4. Protect the Flat Income Tax - now under fire in many countries (Mr Bjorn T-W)

     How to get Members & Money
5. Creating a Strategic Plan that Works (Mr Troy Lanigan, Canadian Taxpayers Federation) 
6. Different Techniques for Getting Members (Mr Bjorn T-W)
7. Empower your Donors to Fulfill Their Wishes - the different fundraising in Canada (Mr T. Lanigan)  
8. How Beijing Taxpayers manage to get 170.000 members and how extensive service can finance the organization,
now developing independent taxpayers associations all over China (Mr F. Liu, China)
9. How South Korea has achieved 1.300.000 internet members and how these are used and managed (Mr. Kim Sun Taek, Korea Taxpayers Association)
10. How a taxpayers association can work in developing countries (Mr Otieno Igogo, Tanzania Taxpayers)

      Better communication
11. How to Get Free Publicity with Creativity. (Mr Raymond Ho Man Kit, Momentum 107, Hong Kong)
12. Establishing a better Communication system between all APTU-members (Mr Fengjiang Liu, China)
13. Opportunity for paying APTU-members to communicate with members in other countries (Mr Fengjiang Liu, Beijing Taxpayers)
14. News in the Chinese tax system (Ms Qiao Shuping)

      Exchange of printed material
15. Exchange of magazine, books and other material between the member associations.
      Bring your samples to Bangkok (Mr. Fengjiang Liu, Beijing Taxpayers)

      Formal Issues & Elections
16. Report from the World Taxpayers Conference in May in Kiev. Words of welcome to the World Taxpayers Conference in Vancouver, Canada 29 - 31 May 2014 (Mr. Troy Lanigan)
…. Other issues

Hotel & Conference in the same building
15 min walk from Sky Train Station “Thonglor” (Close to stations Asok and Nana).
We offer reduced hotel prices incl. taxes & service, big breakfast, internet, gym and pool etc.
- Executive Suites (Studio 37 sqm) Baht 3.500 net/night (USD 117).
- One bedroom Suites (61 sqm) Baht 4.200 net/night (USD 140).
Cheaper hotels are also available. Urgent booking of hotels are requested.

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See also:
Tax Cut 10: Mongolian Taxpayers Movement, July 28, 2009
Tax Cut 11: US Tax Cuts, Retain Them, September 18, 2010
Tax Cut 12: Removing Taxes on Foreign Airlines, April 02, 2012
Tax Cut 13: Remove the Excise Tax on Oil Products, July 04, 2012

Abolish Income Tax 5: Consumption taxes, other government fees, November 25, 2009
Abolish Income Tax 6: Income tax and VAT trade-off, February 08, 2010
Abolish Income Tax 7: Rene Azurin, Peter Wallace, John Mangun, August 19, 2011
Abolish Income Tax 8. From low flat tax to zero income tax, September 30, 2011

APTU meeting in Bangkok, part 2

In Part 1 of this discussion, I briefly introduced the Asia Pacific Taxpayers Union (APTU) and some of its member-organizations, and the World Taxpayers Association (WTA).

I was not able to attend the APTU meeting in Bangkok last week due to financial constraints. And it was good that I did not go there because my two daughters got sick and I have to bring them to a doctor on those days that they were meeting in Bangkok.

Mr. You of Japan Taxpayers Association (JTR) sent me this group picture below.

From left, 2nd row: Ms. Gulyaim Nurbekova of Kazakhstan Taxpayers Association, Mr. You of JTR, Mr. Bjorn Tarras-Wahlberg, WTA Sec-Gen. and APTU Chairman, Mr. Fengiang Liu of Beijing International Taxation Research Society (BITRS), Mr. Raymond Ho of Momentum 107-HK, Mr. Jaya Naidu from Australia. In front is Mr. Kim SunTaek of Korea Taxpayers Association. Beside him are English translators of Mr. Kim, Mr. Liu, and... I don't know the 2 other ladies :-)

From several email exchanges where I was cc'd, it was a good meeting, good. Below is a portion of the presentation made by Bjorn.

Many countries are now competing at 10 percent flat income tax rate. Since this trend in tax competition is likely to continue, not reverse, then we should be seeing income tax rates going down to 6-7 percent or lower in some countries in the coming years.

Below is another slide from Bjorn. Georgia is stepping hard on the tax competition pedal.

Next year, Georgia's personal income tax will go down to only 7 percent and it will abolish taxes on dividends and interest income. It has also abolished capital gains tax. All other things being equal, it should be safe to assume that more and more foreign investors and professionals will be trooping to Georgia to do business there.

The governments of the Philippines and many other countries should think hard of this tax competition currently on-going. Higher taxes will either discourage businesses, or businesses will still come provided various loopholes and tax credits can be availed of. Or higher taxes will encourage government corruption, more tax cheating and avoidance, with the likely connivance of several officials and personnel of tax collection agencies themselves.