21st Annual Meeting of the OECD Network on Fiscal Relations Across Levels of Government

• Session 5: Managing Subnational Disaster Risks 

Discussion of follow-up study proposal: Teresa Ter-Minassian (NFR) – Luiz de Mello (OECD/ECO); Axel Radics (IDB)

Austria (Philipp Päcklar) and Spain (Begoña Villanueva) introduced recent national approaches to managing disaster-related fiscal risks, including the role of dedicated funds, insurance mechanisms and temporary fiscal adjustments. These examples set the stage for the discussion of a new project led by the Fiscal Network, in cooperation with the IDB and the CoR, to collect country case studies and conduct a comparative survey on fiscal responses to natural disasters. The initiative aims to map instruments used at national and subnational levels – ranging from contingency funds to disaster clauses and climate-related fiscal rules – and assess how risk exposure is reflected in fiscal frameworks.

The goal is to support more coherent, evidence-based strategies for building subnational fiscal resilience, and to guide the development of good practices across a wide range of institutional settings.

• Session 6: New Metrics of Decentralisation  

Discussion of new metrics of decentralisation and their use: Carlo Gianelle (EC) – Antti Moisio (OECD/CFE) – Agnese Sacchi (UoU); Andoni Montes (NFR) – Nerea Urrutia (EhU)

Robust, comparable metrics of decentralisation are essential for understanding how responsibilities and resources are distributed across levels of government. This session introduces the new REGOFI and MUNIFI toolkits – developed by the OECD and European Commission – to better assess the scope and quality of administrative and fiscal decentralisation. The indicators are already being applied in several strands of Network work, including the fiscal equalisation paper presented in this session and the AI and public finance note.

Presentations will explore how these tools can support evidence-based reforms and inform evaluation of intergovernmental arrangements and transfer systems.

Background document on the REGOFI/MUNIFI database and toolkit (forthcoming) 

• Session 7: Closing & Future Work Programme 

The closing session will present progress on the implementation of the 2025–26 Programme of Work and Budget, including recent joint events (see India 16^th Finance Commission consultation) and publications by the Network. The Secretariat will outline upcoming joint surveys on subnational fiscal risks, the restoration of public finances and new work measuring subnational spending power for the green transition.

Delegates are invited to propose additional areas of interest or collaboration, with a view to shaping the Network’s comparative work through 2026 and beyond.

New project ideas to explore and develop to support countries’ needs on fiscal renewal and AI integration are highly welcome.

• Workshop: Local Taxation and Legal Frameworks 

Introduced by Ambassador Sang-Dae Choi of Korea to the OECD

Speakers: Junghun Kim; Andrew Reschovsky (UW-Madison); Alexander Pick (CTPA)

The workshop was opened with remarks from the Korean Ambassador and an introduction to the legal and institutional challenges facing local taxation systems across OECD countries. Drawing upon the draft background paper, the discussion examined country approaches to assigning taxing powers to subnational governments, with particular attention to legal constraints, constitutional structures and the evolving role of property taxation.

The second half of the session shifted to open discussion of implications for country reporting, international data comparability and future work on clarifying local tax attribution. Delegates from Austria, Korea, Italy, Spain and the UK were invited to share national perspectives and contribute to identifying next steps for supporting reform and better local tax attribution frameworks. 

Background document discussing local tax legal issues (forthcoming)