Tax expenditures: challenges and opportunities in the UK and beyond

Description

Tax expenditures (TEs) – often called tax reliefs, tax subsidies, tax breaks or tax benefits – represent a substantial and often opaque component of fiscal policy. In the UK alone, the estimated cost of TEs amounts to 7.6% of GDP in 2023–24. While recent improvements have expanded transparency, major gaps remain in disclosure, evaluation, and oversight.

Co-hosted by Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and ODI Global, this event brought together policymakers, researchers and development practitioners to discuss the findings of the recently launched UK Tax Expenditure Country Report (TECR), authored by Professor Adrian Sinfield. Part of the new TECR series launched by CEP and IDOS, the UK report provides an in-depth analysis of national TE policy, transparency, fiscal cost, and the political economy of reform.

The event included a presentation of the UK TECR main findings, followed by a high-level panel on “Tax Expenditure Policy in the UK and Beyond”, examining the UK’s dual role as both a TE policymaker and a development partner. The event concluded with a session on “Tax Expenditure Reform and Financing for Development”, exploring how high-income countries can strengthen support for domestic resource mobilisation in low-income countries.

Speakers

• Hazel Granger - Senior Research Fellow, Development and Public Finance, ODI Global
• Adrian Sinfield - Emeritus Professor of Social Policy and University Fellow, The University of Edinburgh
• David Phillips - Associate Director & TaxDev Country Lead, Institute for Fiscal Studies
• Alistair Lobo - Tax and Economic Growth Lead, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK
• Agustin Redonda - Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy, Council on Economic Policies
• Louise Bladen - Director, HMRC Value for Money Audit, National Audit Office, UK
• Christopher Hoy - Economist, Poverty and Equity, World Bank
• Sierd Hadley - Senior Research Fellow, Development and Public Finance, ODI Global
• Sheila Nuwamanya - Principal Economist, Research and VAT, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda
• Lucie Niyigena - Tax Policy Analyst, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda (Tax Policy Directorate).
• Andy Summers - Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Analysis of Taxation (CenTax), London School of Economics
• Peter Hurst - Senior Technical Adviser, TAXDEV Kenya and Uganda