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Program UpdatesHigh-level Panel Convened at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar
High-level Panel Convened at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar
The dialogue on South-South Sharing of Successful Tax Practices continued and expanded at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar. There, on 30 November, 2008, a high-level panel of southern tax experts explored opportunities to expand developing and emerging market countries’ voices in the development of international tax norms and to adjust the status of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters to an intergovernmental body. The panel also considered transfer pricing and pressing issues in natural resources taxation, both of which have strong potential for tax cooperation linked to sustained development.
This meeting also launched the publication Revenue’s Role in the Quest for Inclusive Development, What Works and What Can Work Better? The chapters explore successful country experiences in addressing key taxation issues that would benefit other Southern countries. The book and DVD are designed for immediate use by in-country legislators and regulators responsible for designing tax policy, by tax administrators and by professors of tax law and economics.
Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations & Mr. Yiping Zhou, Director, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – (speaking on behalf of Mr. Kemal Dervis, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme) launched the publication. They spoke of the importance of taxation to achieve sustainable development and of the value of South-South cooperation in this area. They emphasized the need to mobilise domestic resources for development and ensuring southern countries voice and participation in the development of tax norms.
Future plans for this work include establishing a new virtual UN Tax Academy with supporting mechanisms to facilitate south-south and north-south cooperation in tax practices. The academy may become part of the South-South Development Academy, bringing Southern policy makers, tax commissioners, and staff together for training, engaging in mutual learning and teaching on issues that are of highest priority and in a manner that can be readily implemented as “participants” return to their offices. The virtual academy will be fluid and adaptable to the diverse needs of Southern governments.
Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations and Mr. Yiping Zhou, Director, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
Speakers and panelists included Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations; Mr. Yiping Zhou, Director, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); H.E. Ambassador Léo Mérorès, President, ECOSOC, United Nations; H.E. Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation and Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations; Mr. Vito Tanzi, former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former State Undersecretary for Economy and Finance, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy; Mr. Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance, National Treasury, South Africa (TBC); Mr. Amar Bhattacharya, Director, G-24 Secretariat; Mr. Vimal Gandhi, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, India and Mr. Pramod Kumar, Member, ITAT; and Mr. Jin Dongsheng, Deputy Director-General, The Taxation Research Institute of the State Tax Administration (SAT) of China and Mr. S.S. Ogungbesan, Director Tax Policy Department, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria.