Administrators address taxing challenges
Editor's note: Five tax administration chiefs discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by tax reforms ahead of the opening of the Forum on Tax Administration.
By John A.Koskinen
As the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in the United States, I am delighted to be a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Forum on Tax Administration, and to be joining other tax commissioners at the plenary hosted by our good friends and colleagues in China.
As the world becomes more interconnected, it becomes even more important for countries and their tax commissioners to work together, sharing insights, experiences and strategies. A smooth and level playing field helps expand economies to the benefit of everyone.
Toward that end, the United States is pleased to participate in the ongoing collaborative efforts of the FTA, and we look forward to a very productive meeting in Beijing. We in the US look forward to continuing to work with our tax administration partners around the world, especially through participation in the FTA, as we move toward greater tax transparency and greater coordinated efforts to address common compliance challenges.
These efforts will in turn ensure that we can meet the ongoing needs of governments and taxpayers in the rapidly changing global tax environment.
The author is commissioner of US Internal Revenue Service.
By Andrew Treusch
To address this challenge, Canada actively pursues multilateral and bilateral engagement with its international partners.
The meeting of the FTA is an important event on the global tax agenda. It is a great opportunity for tax commissioners representing countries from around the world to meet and discuss global tax administration challenges, share best practices, and identify new opportunities for collaboration so that we can achieve common goals.
Tax cooperation across jurisdictional boundaries has reached unprecedented levels, and the international community is fully aware of the importance of increasing tax contributions across nations.
The Canada Revenue Agency is proud to have collaborated with China's State Administration of Taxation on a report commissioned by the FTA and co-sponsored by commissioner Wang Jun and myself. This report will be discussed at the May 2016 FTA meeting, and our goal is to map a way forward for the FTA and its members to advance our capacity building efforts, leading to improved and sustainable results.
The author is commissioner and chief executive officer of the Canada Revenue Agency.
By Hans Leijtens
In my opinion in such a world tax authorities have no other option than adjusting their strategies accordingly and working closely together to best address these challenges. Unilateral activities of tax authorities however, will not be enough to handle the challenges of our modern society and especially not enough to handle cross-border risks.
The FTA is the worldwide platform in which tax administrations work closely together in developing concrete actions for implementing BEPS, for instance, regarding exchange of information between countries about tax payers or enterprises. The recent developments also clearly show that, despite the current mutual assistance in tax matters, modern administration of taxes asks for "more".
Close cooperation between tax administrations is multi-facetted and starts from the idea that tax administrations pool their knowledge and experiences to discuss new insights and technological possibilities to enhance the development of their operational capacity. FTA plays a stimulating role in encouraging the thinking about the tax administration of the future, and it asks tax administrations to discuss and to pilot new means of international cooperation that fit a world without borders.
The author is director general of Netherlands Tax and Customs.
By Mikhail Mishustin
In its short lifetime, the FTS has not only developed and implemented one of the most advanced systems of tax administration in the world, but, more importantly, it has also become one of the most trusted government agencies among Russian taxpayers.
The modern Russian tax system came into being in the late 1990s. This gave us the benefit of studying the experience of tax systems in other countries, which gave us scope for more rapid development and deployment as we built a new system from scratch.
Over the last five years, the FTS has made significant efforts in bringing our tax system closer to the OECD's requirements.
These efforts include the introduction of the transfer pricing legislation, which is based on the OECD Model Guidelines and cooperative compliance mechanisms, and becoming members of the OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.
The FTS is also a part of the network of the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Center.
Russia has made a commitment to joining the Common Reporting Standard and Automatic Exchange of Information in 2018. All of these are very important developments and initiatives that help to build a better and fairer tax system in the modern globalizing world.
The author is head of Federal Tax Service of Russia.
By Naomi Ferguson
The increasing level of globalization has made international collaboration more of a necessity than an option.
New Zealand has been fortunate in being able to work with other jurisdictions to share trends, experiences and best practices. This is done formally through the FTA, the OECD member countries and regions, and the Study Group on Asian Tax Administration and Research.
Since its creation in 2002 the FTA has become a unique forum on tax administration for commissioners from 46 members, including every member of OECD and the G20.
I am pleased to be a part of the vision to create a forum through which commissioners can identify, discuss and influence relevant global trends and develop new ideas to tax administration around the world.
Our collective aim is to enhance taxpayer services and tax compliance by helping tax administrations increase the efficiency, effectiveness and fairness of tax administration and reduce the costs of compliance.
I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to facilitate tax compliance, both within our countries and internationally, as this will contribute to the economic and social well-being of our citizens!
The author is chief executive and commissioner of New Zealand Inland Revenue.
(China Daily 05/11/2016 page6)
