The sixth meeting has taken place of the Forum on Tax Administration in Istanbul, Turkey. Tax commissioners from 40 countries met to discuss issues relating to the administration of tax systems in the current economic climate.
Commissioners stated that better compliance is required on a global level to ensure that tax systems are fairer. This will lead to increases in revenue and contribute to economic growth that has been significantly affected by the economic crisis.
Measures for compliance can be achieved by:
· implementing joint audits by two or more revenue bodies that would examine corporate and individual tax payers, which intends to boost international tax compliance in addition to reducing costs for taxpayers and revenue bodies.
· ensuring that corporate governance practices are sound and by addressing tax risk assessment and management by corporate boards
· improving the advances in international co-operation, while strengthening opportunities to share information; this will lead to improvements in offshore compliance.
The commissioners also asserted their commitment to compliance in relation to supporting tax administrations in developing and emerging economies. Those who attended the summit discussed reports on approaches to tax risks in the banking sector.
Douglas H. Shulman the Forum on Tax Administration Chair and Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, USA said the summit had been productive: “The valuable work of the Forum on Tax Administration continues to intensify. I want to commend my colleagues from the many revenue authorities who continue to work to co-ordinate our efforts.”