Tax Incentives in Developing Countries: A Case Study—Singapore and Philippines

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this chapter is twofold. The first aim is to analyse the main features of the tax incentives in developing countries with a case study of two countries, Singapore and the Philippines. Singapore has been regarded in literature as one of the countries that has successfully attracted foreign direct investment; however, it is not yet clear whether this is the result of tax incentives or any other measure. The Philippines is at the time of writing in the process of introducing a comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) that aims to redesign the tax incentives to become more competitive in the region and to achieve social and economic growth. These countries also belong to the same region (i.e. South East Asia), and therefore, the comparison of the incentives in these countries can also contribute to best practices in the region. Following this comparison, the second aim of this chapter is to evaluate the tax incentives granted in Singapore and the Philippines taking into account a new proposed evaluative framework for tax incentives in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).