Event
Register now for the 'Tax expenditures: challenges and opportunities in the UK and beyond' event
Start Date: 24th September 2025 - 9:30 AM
End Date: 24th September 2025 - 1:00 PM
Time zone: GMT +01
Type: Conference
Location: London, UK and online
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 brings 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.
This event includes 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 concludes 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.
