Vietnamese Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung suggested enhancingtaxation cooperation among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) members to deal with budget revenue reduction due to outsideimpacts, pricing transfer and tax fraud.

TheMinister made the call at the 19 th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Meeting(AFMM-19) and the first ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central BankGovernors’ Joint Meeting, which wrapped up on March 21 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .

At the AFMM-19, the ministersreached high levels of consensus on developing the regional financialmarket in anticipation of the establishment of the ASEAN EconomicCommunity (AEC), while pledging to work closely together to acceleratethe financial and monetary integration process after the AEC takes shapein late 2015.

They also agreed to promote the ASEANForum on Taxation (AFT) in a bid to speed up tax harmonization whilerecognizing the progress in customs cooperation, including thesuccessful implementation of the one-stop-shop mechanism in seven ASEANmember countries.

The ministers signed a protocol onthe legal framework for the implementation of the ASEAN Single Window(ASW) to facilitate trade in the bloc.

Meanwhile,the joint meeting between Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governorsagreed to push the implementation of the initiative of the ASEANCapital Markets Forum (ACMF) on harmonising and mutually recognisingregulations on capital markets.

The joint meetingissued a statement urging ASEAN member nations to continue implementingtheir commitments to boosting regional economic growth and financialstability; and pledging to press ahead with the AEC’s goals as well asactivities under the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration forASEAN.

On the margin of the meetings, the ministersmet with the ASEAN-US and US-EU Business Councils to enhancedialogues between policy makers and the business community.-VNA