Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. Taxing investments in the Asia AbstractThis paper investigates the taxation of investments in the Asia-Pacific region. Our analysis is based on the methodology of Griffith (1999, 2003) for determining effective average tax rates. This approach allows us to account for important national and international tax regulations. Our results show that the overall dispersion of effective tax burdens in Asia-Pacific ranges from 10.6% in Hong Kong to 40.4% in India for domestic investments (overall average of 23.4%). In 8 out of 19 jurisdictions covered, investments are, however, effectively taxed at a rate between 20% and 25%. If the investment is made by a foreign investor, cross-border taxation has a significant impact on the overall tax burden. In any of the Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, foreign direct investments by a Singaporean or a German parent company are on average taxed at 29.2% and at 32.8% in case of a US investor. Meanwhile, tax incentives for the stimulation of private investment reduce the effective average tax rate by 8.6 percentage points on average. Fiscal incentives targeted at investments in the high technology sector or the development of specific geographic areas result in the lowest effective tax burdens.