The 100th WIAPS Seminar (Nov. 10th)

Date & Time

Nov. 10, 2025 (Monday) 12:25-13:00

Venue

ZOOM Webinar

Intended Audience

WIAPS Full-time Faculty/Research Associates, WIAPS Exchange Researchers/Visiting Scholars/Visiting Researchers, GSAPS MA/Ph.D. Students

Presentation

Presenter

Tamki Hara (Assistant Professor [non-tenure-track], WIAPS)

Presentation Theme

Comparative Study of Tax Policies Targeting the Informal Economy in Southeast Asia 

(Conducted in Japanese)

Abstract

In recent years, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines have all faced the challenge of “striking a balance between enhancing investment competitiveness and expanding tax revenues.” Underlying this challenge is the difficult task of simultaneously meeting the need for sustainable economic development to overcome the “middle-income trap” and the demands for social security and infrastructure development. In this context, all three countries have adopted two main strategies to expand tax revenues: strengthening taxation of the informal economy (economic activities outside government regulation, oversight, and record-keeping, typically including street vendors and day laborers) and leveraging digital technology. However, differences exist in their specific policy measures, performance, and the reactions of those subject to taxation. This presentation discusses a research framework based on the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) methodology. It approaches policy differences among these three countries with similar economic and social backgrounds not as outcomes of economic rationality in tax systems, but as strategic interactions among political actors and processes of restructuring the social contract.