Ongoing DRM Technical Assistance and Country Priorities

R-CoP Session 2 Mr. Panayiotis Nicolaides, Senior Tax Economist from the World Bank, outlined key regional challenges in domestic revenue mobilization across East Asia, noting low tax to GDP ratios, narrow revenue bases, high informality, and underinvestment in human capital that constrain long term growth. He highlighted ongoing World Bank DRM support in countries such as Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, covering areas from excise and VAT reform to compliance risk management and digitalization, and emphasized the need for better data, reduced informality, and sustained revenue growth to support development transitions. #PEMNA #DomesticRevenueMobilization #DRM #TaxPolicy #WorldBank