29/09/2017 – The Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) is the leading international body concerned with tax administration. The FTA, which brings together Tax Commissioners from 50 advanced and emerging tax administrations (including OECD and G20 countries), held its Plenary meeting in Oslo on 27-29 September.

 

Edward Troup, Chairman of HMRC and current Chair of the FTA presided over the meeting. Keynote speeches were given by Mr Nicolas Dujovne, Minister of the Treasury for Argentina and the next President of the G20 Finance Ministers Group, and the Minister of Finance for Norway, Ms Siv Jensen.

 

Key themes discussed at the Plenary were:

• Priorities for the incoming G20 Presidency, in particular effective implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting outcomes, the Common Reporting Standard for exchange of information on offshore accounts and actions to enhance tax certainty, including a new pilot on joint risk assessment of multinationals;
• Continuing efforts to improve tax compliance, including tackling the shadow economy. Discussions focussed on the effective use of data, both domestically and internationally, the management of tax debt and how to minimise identity fraud through effective registration and identification. The Plenary agreed to collective work on options for sharing of information on payments made by online intermediaries in the sharing economy;
• The digital transformation of tax authorities through the use of new technologies, analytical tools and enhanced data sources. The Plenary agreed on the importance of collective work to realise the benefits for compliance, customer service and reduction of burdens, particularly for SMEs.

 

For more details, see the communiqué released at the close of the meeting.

 

The Plenary welcomed the new Chair of the FTA, Mr Hans Christian Holte, Commissioner of the Norwegian Tax Administration. The following publications were released at this event:

• Tax Administration 2017
• The Changing Tax Compliance Environment and the Role of Audit
• Shining Light on the Shadow Economy: Opportunities and threats
• Country-by-Country Reporting: Handbook on Effective Implementation (BEPS Action 13)
• Country-by-Country Reporting: Handbook on Effective Tax Risk Assessment (BEPS Action 13)

 

For further information, contact Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (+33 6 2630 4923), Achim Pross, Head of the International Co-operation and Tax Administration Division (+33 6 2163 2767), or the CTPA Communications Team.