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ACTIVITIES' REPORT JULY 2009 - JUNE 2010

The Activities' Report for Fiscal Year starting on 1 July-2009 to 30 June -2010, briefly describes the main results attained with regards to the projects and activities undertaken in line with the Schedule drafted by each Director, Manager and Coordinator, prior to the start of the period under consideration, which reflects the outcomes at the end of the report pursuant to the annual Objectives.

Program 1. International Meetings and Institutional Development.

Activities Completed:

The R.I.D.I. program held its meetings according to schedule. We should highlight its summit, the 44th CIAT General Assembly, held with great success. We have prepared a summary of the events therein.

1.1 General Assembly.

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It was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 12 - 15 April, 2010. The main theme was "The Role of the Tax Administrations in the Global Crisis". A total of 28 delegations from member and associate-member countries attended, 9 delegations from guest and observer countries and 19 delegations from international agencies and institutions related with CIAT. Relevant issues were approved in the Administrative Session of the General Assembly of Representatives such as the Executive Secretariat Performance Report, the Activities' Plan and the Budget for the forthcoming fiscal year.

This meeting, one of the most relevant on the Center's activity agenda, was carried out successfully not only given the excellent organization and hospitality offered by the Tax Administration of Uruguay, headed by its Director, Pablo Ferreri, but also for the good

technical level and contributions arising from the documents and presentations made by speakers, commentators and moderators.

The technical program featured opening presentations by the Executive Secretariat and the International Monetary Fund. The final remarks were made by the Inter-American Development Bank.

During the closing ceremony, the General Directorate for Finance and Public Revenue of France extended their invitation to the next CIAT Technical Conference in Paris, from 18 - 21 October of this year. Likewise, the Internal Revenue Service from Ecuador extended an invitation to the next General Assembly in that country during the first semester of 2011.

Portugal was confirmed as the venue for the Technical Conference in 2011, whose program was approved during the Administrative Session, just as the program for the General Assembly of Ecuador.

In this General Assembly, the CIAT Executive Secretariat honored the career of Professor Edison Gnazzo, for his participation in the founding process of CIAT in his capacity of Director General for Revenue of Uruguay; his valuable and productive term as CIAT Executive Secretary (1982 – 1992), and his internationally acknowledged contribution to the analysis of public finance, tax policy and the strengthening and modernization of the Tax Administrations.

Other Meetings with the participation of the Executive Secretariat: -

Executive Secretary's visit to the General Revenue Directorate of Panama: on 17 August, to come into contact with the new representatives of the Tax Administration, after the elections of 1 July; CIAT was presented and the Center’s services were offered.

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ECLAC Conference on Public Policies in the face of the Global Crisis in San Salvador, El Salvador: from 31 August to 1 September. The Executive Secretary and the Director of Operations participated. The opportunity was taken to visit the new Internal Revenue Director of El Salvador, María E. de Rubio.

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Conference, Impact of the World Economy on Tax Processes: on 9 September, 2009, the Executive Secretary participated as a speaker in this academic and virtual meeting, aimed at officials from the SAT of Mexico, at the local as well as central level, with the participation of approximately 500 SAT officials.

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Visit from ICEFI to the Executive Secretariat: on 22 September, 2009 Mr. Mynor Cabrera and Mr. Fernando Carrera, Economists from the Central American Institute for Tax Studies were received to discuss the issue of the situation of tax policy in the region and how to find common interest areas and plan for possible joint actions.

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Conference "Public Policies in the Global Crisis: Present Issues and Future Challenges": organized by ECLAC in Santiago de Chile, from 29 - 30 September, 2009. The Executive Secretariat participated through the Director of Operations at that time, Mr. Marcio Verdi, on behalf of CIAT.

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Agreement with Externado University from Colombia: this is a framework agreement to subsequently define specific activities and, therefore, avoid financial costs. It pursues areas for joint efforts.

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Mission USA - Washington (IRS, US Treasury, IMF, IDB and WB): the representatives in this mission were Mr. Márcio Verdi, CIAT Executive Secretary, Socorro Velazquez, International Specialist, Luis Cremades, Head of the Spanish Mission and Ángel Gonzalez, Head of the French Mission. The mission discussed strategic matters with the IRS authorities and common projects with the IMF, IDB and WB. Additionally, CIAT integration in the ITD was discussed.

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OECD Forum with non-OECD economies of Latin America/Cooperation Agreement with the CTPA of the OECD: Márcio Verdi, Executive Secretary, participated in this meeting and under its framework subscribed a cooperation agreement with the CTPA of the OECD.

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Central American Mission: from 8-12 February, 2010, a mission of the Tax Administrations from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala was organized to promote cooperation and collaboration in joint activities in the region; institutional and technical topics were discussed. The mission was made up by the Director of Tax Studies, the Manager of Institutional Relations, and the Technical Assistance Manager together with the Spanish Mission to CIAT. In this same mission, the Executive Secretariat delegation met with SIECA, CAPTAC – DR, GTZ Guatemala, and ICEFI.

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Visit to the DGI-Panama: CIAT Executive Secretary met with the Director General of Revenue of Panama, Luis Cucalón; among the topics addressed in the meeting were the different services and consulting services that CIAT offers.

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Mission Colombia- Externado University: The Director for Studies and Training, together with the Spanish Head of Mission to CIAT met with authorities from Externado University of Colombia and the DIAN from 23 - 24 March, in order to discuss matters regarding a potential joint Master's course.

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Visit to the MEF in Panama: Márcio Verdi, CIAT Executive Secretary visited the MEF in Panama, where he met the Vice-Minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima, to address mutual cooperation matters.

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Meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Republic of Panama: the meeting was held at the Office of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Juan Carlos Varela, during which Executive Secretary Márcio Verdi and his Manager of International Meetings and Institutional Development, Francisco Beiner, discussed technical assistance issues and cooperation activities conducted by CIAT.

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Visit of Byron Vázconez, Correspondent from Ecuador and PGM project leader and Luis Sánchez, SRI Head of Technology: on 24 March, they visited CIAT headquarters, as part of the agenda for the visit, they discussed topics regarding technical assistance such as the Analysis of the TdR of the consulting services requested by the SRI from CIAT; review of CIAT-developed applications, a matter of interest to the SRI and the OECD - CIAT – SRI Meeting and other matters relevant to the parties.

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OECD Seminar-Vancouver, Canada: from 29-31 March, the Executive Secretary, Dr. Márcio Verdi, participated in the OECD Seminar; on behalf of the Executive Secretariat he participated in the Advisory Group Meeting on matters of cooperation with nonOECD economies, and made a presentation regarding CIAT and their program on Ethics in an important annual international Forum; additionally he participated as keynote speaker in the Transfer Pricing discussion.

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Brasilia Mission: from 29-31 March, the CIAT Director of Studies participated in the Classroom Seminar of the Course, concluding Module II on Tax Administration. The ESAF thanked CIAT and requested material from the HR course, the Course on Ethics and other courses to translate them into Portuguese. The ESAF wishes to pursue the idea of establishing a Latin American school and rely on CIAT cooperation for such purpose.

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ITC Mission-Brussels- IBFD Amsterdam: The Director for International Assistance and Cooperation and the International Cooperation Manager participated in the International Tax Compact – Core Group Meeting in Brussels, on 26 April and on the 27th met in Amsterdam with IBFD officials; in both prestigious meetings, the discussions were centered on the potential CIAT contributions and mutual cooperation issues with the delegates from the participating organizations: GTZ, UNO, KFW.

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CIAT Correspondent's visit to Italy: On 11 May, Lieutenant Coronel Stefano Gesuelli, Head of the International Cooperation Office of the Directorate General, Guardia di Finanza visited CIAT; as part of the Agenda, specific cooperation activities issues were discussed (among them, a review of CIAT cooperation activities, and participation of speakers from the Guardia di Finanza in CIAT meetings).

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Task Force Meeting – Paris, France: held on 11 May. Mr. Socorro Velazquez, International CIAT Specialist represented us in this meeting organized by the OECD (CTPA) to discuss coordination and planning by international organizations of the assistance that international agencies deliver to developed countries.

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Visit from the SRI Director to CIAT: from 26- 27 May, SRI Director Dr.Carlos Carrasco visited CIAT headquarters to discuss mutual cooperation matters, technical assistance and the Assembly to be held in Ecuador.

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Curacao Mission:

from 10 - 11 June, the Technical Assistance Manager, Raúl

Zambrano, made a technical visit to discuss with local and insular administrations' officials the potential required in an integrated information system within a modern administration.

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Eurosocial - Madrid, Spain: 7-9 June, the Forum on Taxation and Social Cohesion, concluded Phase I of the EUROsociAL Taxation Project. This regional technical cooperation project with Latin America was promoted by the European Commission and headed by the Spanish Institute for Tax Studies. The European founding members present were ADETEF from France, INWENT from Germany, CEDDET from Spain and the IFS from Great Britain; and from the Americas, the AFIP from Argentina, the DIAN from Colombia, the Receita Federal of Brazil and the SAT and SHCP of Mexico and CIAT. The meeting conclusions were drawn by the Director of EUROsociAL Taxation, Mrs. Ángeles Fernandez, Mr. Jean Robert Suesser, Director of ADETEF France, Mr. Jens Petersen-Thumser, Head of Division of INWENT, Germany, Mr. Nestor Díaz, Director of the DIAN from Colombia and Mr. Marcio Verdi, CIAT Executive Secretary.

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Mission to Cuba: on 15 June, the Executive Secretary visited the authorities of the Cuban Tax Administration in order to discuss strategic matters for CIAT and joint projects.

1.2.

CIAT Technical Conference 2009 - Naples, Italy:

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Sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, this conference was held in Naples from 19-22 October, 2009, under the theme "The Strengthening of the Tax Administration Capacity".

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29 delegations from member and associate-member countries attended the Conference and 22 delegations from guest and observer countries, international agencies and CIAT-related institutions.

1.3. 2010 CIAT Technical Conference - Paris, France: -

The text of the agreement between CIAT and the DGFIP to organize and hold the meeting was drafted and signed. The main theme of the Conference shall be: “Improvement of the Effectiveness of the Tax Administration through New Organizational Models”.

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The Technical Program was drafted and the review of the progress in the DGFIP services' hiring process.

1.4. Member-countries Tax Administrations' System to support Executive Secretariat activities: -

No activities performed or scheduled in this period.

1.5. Elections' Committee: -

Executive Secretariat drafts the Report for the Elections Committee to make up the new Executive Council.

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The Election's Committee meeting was held on 11 April, 2010.

1.6. Integral Planning and Evaluation System: -

The consultation instruments for member countries were drafted and distributed, mainly with respect to the development of the preliminary new Strategic Plan 2010 – 2013; the Annual Operating Plan; and the issues to be discussed in the forthcoming International CIAT events in 2011.

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The Technical Committee meeting was organized and held from 9 -11 November, 2009, at the offices of the CIAT Executive Secretariat. The Committee was made up by specialists from Argentina, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Spain and France, who drafted the preliminary CIAT Strategic Plan 2010 - 2013.

A new system of performance goals and indicators was designed, developed and implemented in line with the Annual Operating Plan, at the level of Programs and Projects, applicable in the annual performance assessment for the international officials of the Secretariat.

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Member-countries applied the assessment instruments on the products and meetings rendered by the Executive Secretariat.

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The preliminary Strategic Plan 2010 - 2013, and the activities' plan and preliminary budget 2010 - 2011, were presented in the Executive Council meeting in March 2010 for its final adjustment prior to submitting it to the consideration and approval of the General Assembly in Montevideo. They were approved.

1.7.

Member-countries acknowledge CIAT: reactivating processes by segments of countries:

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From 8-12 February, 2010 a mission from the Tax Administrations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala was conformed to discuss this institutional topic, among other issues. The mission delegates were the Director of Tax Studies, the Manager of Institutional Relations, and the Technical Assistance Manager; together with the Head of the Spanish Mission to CIAT.

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The supporting documents were delivered to Costa Rica to start the formalities in the Foreign Office.

1.8. Biannual CIAT Meeting of Correspondents: -

The 11th Biannual Meeting of Correspondents was organized and held in the City of Panama, from 18 - 20 November, 2009. Most Correspondents of member-countries attended the meeting. They were updated on the existence and use of CIAT services and products, as well the relevant institutional information.

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A workshop was held on the Role of Correspondents in the Strategy to Improve the CIAT information Network, a key factor in obtaining and updating the CIAT database permanently and generating other products to benefit CIAT member-countries.

Agreements Subscribed:

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Technical Cooperation Agreement for the Storage and Management of Data Backups.

Parties: DGI from Dominican Republic and CIAT. Validity: renewable every two years.

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Cooperation Program 2010-2014, renewing International Cooperation among Economy Ministries (1999). Parties: CTPA, OECD and CIAT. Duration: 5 years, may be extended.

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Technical Assistance, Training and Mutual Cooperation Framework Agreement.

Parties: SRI of Ecuador and CIAT. Validity: indefinite.

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Technical Cooperation Agreement. Parties: SEHP, AEAT, IEF and CIAT, expires on 1 July, 2010.

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Memorandum of Understanding for International Cooperation. Parties: IOTA and CIAT. Validity: indefinite.

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Administrative Tax Cooperation Agreement. Parties: MEFI from France and CIAT. Validity: indefinite.

Program 2. Tax Studies.

Activities Completed:

2.1.

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2.2.

Identifying Better Practices: This project has been undertaken in coordination with project 4.1 of the Technical Cooperation Program: Developing the Benchmarking program in the Tax Administration and, therefore, the execution of activities to identify better practices depends on the needs identified in this project.

Tax Studies and Reports:

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Study on the reforms to the Individual Income Tax in CIAT-member countries of the Andean area.

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Research completed on the legal structure of Colombia.

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Research and comparative studies with the AFIP Studies Institute.

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Research on legislation of member- countries.

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The Income Tax of Ecuador was described in order to forward it to the IEF for the micro-simulation pilot project.

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Definition of the methodological profile of the technical assistance project to calculate the Tax Gap in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Definition of the methodological profile of a potential technical assistance project for Bolivia to calculate potential collection.

2.3. Observatory for the Identification of best Tax Administration practices and news with regards to Tax Policy and Tax Legislation: -

We identified, analyzed, edited, and published the information for Issue No. 2 of the Observatory.

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At the end of January 2010, Issue No. 3 of the Observatory was published on the Portal pursuant to the new guidelines defined to such end.

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At the end of April, 2010, Issue No. 4 of the Observatory was published on the Portal pursuant to the new guidelines defined to such end. This activity shall be discontinued in the forthcoming fiscal year. It shall be replaced by the " Tax News"

2.4. Taxation Database: revenue statistics, description of the tax systems, tax administrations, legislation and tax treaties: -

The strategy to identify alternative sources to supply information to feed into our statistics' database was implemented in January; we contacted officials from the TA Studies' areas and started information exchanges directly with them.

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We identified different TA electronic portals and those from government ministries in charge of disseminating statistical information on collection. The information was downloaded. Therefore, we have stored statistical information in our database on the Individual and Corporate Income Tax, the Value Added Tax, Selective Taxes and social security contributions from twenty-two of the CIAT - member countries; this information is used to prepare the collection observatories.

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We updated the tax treaties' component up to 95% and we have continued uploading and/or downloading the new treaties and the expiring treaties.

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We applied the same strategy used for the statistical component, with the tax legislation component, which started with four countries that shall become the benchmark for the remaining member countries.

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We initiated the updating process for member- countries' legislation.

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Ongoing update of the tax treaty database.

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Update as of April 2010 of the tax rate table for general excise taxes; the Tax Rate module was removed from the Database as required by the Executive Secretary.

2.5.

Frequently Asked Questions:

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Updating the material used to deliver the relevant topics.

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This activity was incorporated under Tax Queries.

2.6.

Tax Queries:

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The first meeting with the Executive Secretary was held in May, during which a new query assistance procedure was prepared.

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A total of thirty-four queries on different tax issues have been received and answered in this period.

Biannual Monograph Contest:

2.7.

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The monographs were delivered to the jury pursuant to the contest terms and conditions. The jury granted the first place to Carlos Luis Monzó for his work: "The Simplified Imports System according to Argentine Regulations" and the second place to Miguel Angel Játiva for his work “Current Trends in Performance Planning and Control in the Tax Administrations”.

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Preparation of the invitation to the 23rd contest. It was decided to hold this contest biannually.

2.8.

CIAT - AEAT - IEF Research Grant: -

Marlon Vicente Manya Orellana was selected as the grant beneficiary. He works in the Internal Revenue Service of Ecuador. The Executive Secretariat coordinated with him to start the research work, including the working schedule, and followed up said activity.

The research topic was: “Capturing and Processing Third-Party Information. Sources and Strategic Alliances of the Tax Administration with Public and Private Entities".

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The completion of the work was followed through. Pursuant to the new cooperation agreement between CIAT and Spain, the grant shall be extended every two years after the 5th edition.

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The winner of the research grant, Mr. Marlon Orellana, delivered the electronic document and five printouts of the Grant work.

2.9. Standing Thematic Committees: 2.9.1. Standing Thematic Committee for the Promotion of Ethics in the Tax Administration: Presided by Canada, with the additional participation of: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa. Likewise, based on their experience on the topic, we invited and accepted the TAs from New Zealand and Sweden. The Committee is technically coordinated by the President and the Executive Secretariat.

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We continued with the schedule set forth in the 2nd Meeting, specifically with the development of a facilitators’ training guide.

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We presented the Workshop on Self-diagnosis Tools regarding TA Ethics and Integrity, jointly with the General Revenue Directorate of Uruguay and Eurosocial, in the city of

Montevideo, Uruguay from 14 - 18 September, 2009. The key objective of said workshop is the application of the Self-diagnosis Guide designed by CIAT, through Working Groups and the Standing Committee on Ethics.

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At the end of January, we received the report on the pilot experience of Uruguay, which shall be analyzed together with the Revenue Directorate of said country in order to establish improvements in the strategy to implement the tool.

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On 24 -26 May, the 3rd CIAT Meeting of the Ethics Committee and the Tax Administration was held in the City of Panama.

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Work was conducted on updating the questionnaire on the self-diagnosis guide and the facilitators' manual.

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A technical assistance proposal was presented to the SRI of Ecuador, to undertake selfdiagnosis activities, which is under approval.

2.9.2. Standing Thematic Committee, International Tax Planning Control:

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Presided by Argentina, with the participation of: Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, France, Mexico, The Netherlands, Paraguay, Czech Republic and Dominican Republic. Likewise, other TAs from CIAT-member countries were invited. The Committee is technically coordinated by the President and the Executive Secretariat.

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As regards the creation of a database with international tax planning systems and instruments, a document was drafted which dwelled on different aspects such as: 1) Preliminary Considerations, 2) Grounds, 3) Purpose of the database, 4) Features of the systems and Instruments to be Reported, 5) Classifiers, 6) Analysis of the systems delivered and 7) Systems' classification table.

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The reports of the Intra-group Services presented by the Committee countries have been systematized. Based on such systematization, a series of documents were drafted, which are available in Spanish and English: 1) List with the information to be presented by the countries who submitted the reports, 2) Questionnaire on Section I of the Study, dwelling on general aspects relative to the tax treatment of the "Intra-group Services", 3) Questionnaire on the Regulatory Annex and 4) Questionnaire on Section II of the Study, on the practical aspects regarding "Intra-group services" control.

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Preparations were completed for the 3rd Meeting of the Committee on Abusive Tax Planning held in April, 2010 in Mar de Plata, Argentina.

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3rd. Committee Meeting, which has been sponsored from the start by the Federal Revenue Administration (AFIP) of Argentina.

Officials from the tax administrations of Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Kenya, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, Dominican Republic and Uruguay participated in the meeting.

Active discussions were held on structural aspects and the content of the 4 working approaches the Committee adopted (Study on Compared Legislation, Study on Tax

Havens, Database on Harmful International Tax Planning Plans and Instruments and Study on Operations' Control involving Intra-group Services).

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The committee's virtual platform was updated based on this third meeting.

2.10. Working Group on Human Resources' Management: -

Co-sponsored by France, with the participation of Brazil, Barbados, Chile, Honduras, Guatemala, Italy, Peru and the Executive Secretariat.

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The Manual's review was completed, in its Spanish and English version. The Manual shall be presented during the Technical Conference in Paris, France, in October, 2010.

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The Human Resources Manual was presented in the closing ceremony of the Technical Conference of Montevideo, Uruguay.

2.11. Working Group Methodological Models to Estimate Tax Expenditure: -

From 30 November to 2 December, 2009, the first Meeting of the Working Group on Tax Expenditure Measurement was held. This meeting was the starting point for the activities to draft the CIAT Manual on Tax Expenditure Measurement, which shall facilitate a Comparative Study.

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A Questionnaire was sent to member countries regarding their expertise on Tax Expenditure Measurement and a joint working schedule was agreed with the members of this Group.

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The answers to the questionnaire were reviewed and activities were conducted for the two remaining meetings scheduled in the second and fourth quarter of 2010.

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Group profile work was completed.

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Preparation of the theoretical framework based on the Questionnaire sent to member countries on their expertise regarding Tax Expenditure Measurement.

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The Second Meeting of the Working Group on Tax Expenditure Measurement came to an end; it was held between 31 May to 2 June, 2010 in Madrid, at the venue of the Institute for Tax Studies (IEF) of the Secretariat of Finance and Budget of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Spain.

2.12.

Library:

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Launching of the new PMB Platform for the Library operation (15 July, 2009).

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Update of the manual of procedures for the Library functions.

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CIAT Publications:

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Two series were published on two topics (No. 4 “Collection” and No. 5 “Tax Administration / Information and Communications' Technology -ICT”) and two editions on two topics (No. 2 on Tax Collection and No. 3 on Taxpayer Assistance).

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8 ISBN were obtained from the National Library for CIAT publications and 1 ISSN for the CIAT working documents Series.

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Implementation of free access to CIAT publications (March, 2010).

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A number of CIAT publications were published on the ITD page (April, 2010).

Information in Digital Format: -

Scanning of indices of the documents that are not CIAT-generated (debugging and conversion of files to PDF format), material cataloguing and classification; incorporation into the library system to make them available for users' queries.

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Updates into PDF format of CIAT-generated publications.

Newsletters: -

The "Tax News' Alert" was launched on 5 April, 2010 and is issued daily (Monday thru Friday) to subscribers. Prior to this date, this newsletter was only issued to the Executive Secretariat.

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Fortnightly e-newsletter to the Executive Secretariat regarding the new bibliography and publication of 12 monthly newsletters on the Web.

Subscription to Publications: -

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Three subscriptions were made: International Financial Statistics Database, Harvard Business Review and the subscription to the IMF Government Finance Statistics Online was renewed.

Library Maintenance: -

The two planned maintenance activities were completed.

Program 3. Training.

Activities Completed:

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Out of the 17 courses planned for this period, 13 were completed. Additionally, the 5th Edition of the Specialized Course on Tax Policy and Procedure was held and the Course on Transfer Pricing for the SAT of Guatemala, neither of which were scheduled.

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A total of 1,958 students enrolled in the 2008-2009 term; a total of 1,477 students enrolled in the 2009-2010 term. Unfortunately, the number of students dropped owing to the crisis affecting countries in the course of 2009.

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Among the most relevant Virtual Courses, with more than 60 students enrolled, we may highlight: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Taxation Course, Special Edition - 2009 – Spanish (CT – Ed. Esp. 2009 - ES) Specialized Tax Administration Course - 4th Edition. (CEAT 4°ed.)

Taxation Course - 2010. (CT 2010) Transfer Pricing Course - 2nd Edition. (CPT 2°ed.)

Financial Institutions and Transactions' Control Course- 5th Edition. (CIOF 5°ed.)

Tax Management Course - 2nd Edition. (CGT 2°ed.)

Specialized Course on Tax Policy and Procedure - 5th Edition. (CEPTT 5°ed.)

Taxation Course, Special Edition - 2009 – English (CT – Ed. Esp. 2009 - IN)

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The table hereunder shows the distribution of participating students and countries in the 2009-2010 term:

Country of Origin: Argentina Barbados Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador USA* El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Kenya Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Portugal Dominican Republic Trinidad and

1

2

3

7

2 3rd Ed.

2 3rd Ed.

4

4 3rd Ed.

3

2

5

2

4 1st Ed. EN

5

6

9

3

Transfer P. Seminar

5 45 9 11 33

2 19 6 1

6

2 4 14

1

24

3 4 24

1 5 1 9

2 3

2 4

1

25

4 9 12

8

3

3

4

6

19 15 1

7

9

1

53

45

31

8 1

2

10

1 7 127

3

1 10

1 2

1 38

13

49

15

15

Total 24 5 47 31 26 69 4 58 0 0 26 0 4 8 27 12 9 23 101 1 303 46

Tobago Uruguay Venezuela IDB Puerto Rico CIAT Total participants

3

9

4 14

2 2

73

45

1

19 16 0 1 1

1 1 158

40

98

61

55

144

25

68

68

25

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Consultants were selected and hired to deliver the following courses:

1. Course on Customs' Affairs, 2. Course on Tax Ethics, 3. Course on the Economic Aspects of Taxation.

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The material for the Tax Management Course and the HR Manual was updated and adjusted; likewise, we began the work to update Module III of the Taxation Course.

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We signed the Agreement with the Externado University of Colombia; the purpose of the agreement is to hold joint training programs on International Tax Law and Tax Administration, in the semi-distance modality.

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Activities were started to update and provide IT support to Moodle, a commitment assumed by the area. Presently, release 1.9.8 is in operation and we are expecting release 1.9.9 to be more stable for the purpose of updating its content.

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Review of the content of the Tax Policy and Tax Law and Tax Administration Modules upon request of the SRI of Ecuador. The Tax Administration Module is the same as CIAT's.

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Update of the Manual on the procedures for the Training Coordination functions.

We participated in the seminars organized by EuroSocial, in the semi-distance modality; likewise, we held the following seminars: 1. Seminar – Workshop on Transfer Pricing Application.

2. Seminar on the Control of Financial Instruments and Derivatives.

3. International Meeting on Tax Culture and Taxpayer Assistance and Information.

4. Meeting of Heads of Tax Administration Schools.

5. Seminar on risk analysis, audits' selection and planning as key aspects in the success of tax evasion, tax fraud and tax avoidance control efforts.

In the course of the second semester of the fiscal year, the International Cooperation area took over the organization of the seminars; therefore, no activities were carried out.

In the course of the second semester of the year, we received an internship request. The International Cooperation area processed the request, according to the new Executive Secretariat guidelines.

Presently, at the fiscal year end the Training Program accounts' collectible balance amounted to USD 74,816.66, from tax administrations and private entities.

Program 4. Technical Cooperation.

Activities Completed:

4.1.

Development of the Benchmarking Program in the Tax Administration:

Workshop on the Benchmarking Model Program: Participating countries: Argentina, Canada, United States of America, Guatemala, France, Trinidad and Tobago and the Executive Secretariat.

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A number of operating indicators were defined, which owing to their features enabled comparing results among tax administrations in general aspects, less sensitive to specificities. The working group designed a set of thirteen indicators with a total of 38 measurement variables in the statement processing, taxpayer assistance and electronic services areas.

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The number of indicators was structured as a catalog in the CIAT benchmarking system. Five out of the six participating countries of the working group answered the questionnaire. Today, the officials participating in the working group may access the system and CIAT correspondents have received access clearances. In this module, the system provides statistical information only and not the individual details per country.

The application was presented in the correspondents' meeting held in November in the City of Panama, generating interest, expectation and great acceptance.

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From 22 -23 June, the benchmarking group meeting was held in Panama, and the participating countries were Canada, Spain, France and Trinidad and Tobago. During the meeting, an evaluation was conducted regarding the usefulness of the indicators, and the information system. Agreement was reached to present the system in the forthcoming CIAT Technical Conference.

4.2.

Development of Programs on the Electronic Invoice in the Tax Administration:

Participating countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and the Executive Secretariat.

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After the Workshop held in 2009 in the City of Quito, agreement was reached to update the document on General Topics vis-Ă -vis the Electronic Invoice, in order to incorporate certain elements that changed or increased in the countries participating in the group, particularly, the extension of the forms to include relevant topics for taxpayers, and the electronic facilities enabled by the tax administrations for small taxpayers.

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A catalog was created for the Electronic Invoice issues, with respect to: Legal Framework, Forms, Storage, Tax Administration Participation and Use Statistics. The catalog and the answers given by the eight countries were presented in the CIAT Correspondents' Meeting.

- Third Electronic Invoice Workshop: The Third Electronic Invoice Workshop was held in the city of Mexico on 16-18 March.

The meeting was sponsored by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) of Mexico.

Officials from 8 CIAT-member countries and one delegate from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) participated in the meeting.

The topics discussed referred to the technologies applied in transmitting electronic invoices, the options available in terms of invoice standards and the electronic information exchange system. Participants attended excellent presentations on the use of current technologies to process invoices and monitor transportation of goods. The most popular presentations on the different applications of technology were delivered by the officials from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. The IDB delegate presented a system presently in place in Central America to expedite the delivery process based on an electronic system.

Participants were enthusiastic towards a potential standard in the e-invoice as well as the creation of an electronic information exchange system. This initiative would entail involving the customs area, since they are a vital player in the transportation of goods across borders.

-

Working Meeting between the SRI and CIAT : In the framework of the Cooperation Agreement between the SRI of Ecuador and CIAT, a Working Meeting was held on 24-25 March, at the CIAT Headquarters. Dr. Byron Vรกsconez, Director of Planning and Coordination of the Internal Revenue Service of Ecuador and the IT Director, Engineer Luis Sรกnchez attended the meeting.

-

The e-invoice module was updated on the benchmarking system to include information from 2010.

-

The invitation was launched for the working meeting to be held in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, in May, to design a mechanism to exchange e-invoices among member countries.

-

On 4 - 6 May in Salvador, Brazil, the working team appointed in the e-invoice group met to design a standard and a protocol to technically enable the exchange of e-invoices among countries. The meeting concluded with the design of a mechanism based on mutual trust among tax administrations that shall allow an administration to query relevant invoices, on matters of foreign trade as well as other tax proceedings.

-

Clearance for the purpose of updating information was granted to correspondents from countries that did not participate in the group, expanding the system base and facilities.

A total of 18 questions and 51 variables were defined. To the present, the system has received online answers from eight countries, which group-members may query for comparison purposes.

4.3.

Identifying Operating Needs for Technical Cooperation with the Netherlands Antilles:

-

Contacts have been made and we made a presentation of the systems to officials from Curacao and Sint Maarten. We are awaiting their answer.

Argentina, Santa Fe Province: -

We had an approach with the Deputy Secretary of Revenue of the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina, with the support of the AFIP. CIAT drafted a proposal to cooperate with the province in the areas of processes, technology, training and human resources' administration. The proposal was submitted and we are awaiting the answer of the provincial authorities.

-

Directors were changed in the Tax Administration of the Province of Santa Fe, and for this reason we contacted the Ministry of Economy of the province to continue with the initiate underway. The new Administration has shown no interest in continuing the project.

Barbados: -

A mission was organized to assist the IRD in its modernization process in August.

During this time the mission implemented the banking reconciliation modules in the new system. Additionally, in December 2009 an incorporation function was implemented to enhance the information system's security mechanisms, aimed at minimizing the risks of systematic online attacks on the system.

-

A broader cooperation initiative was launched in January 2010, to assist in the electronic and printed statements' reception process for fiscal year 2009, improve certain assessment processes, and consolidate compliance control, risk analysis and auditing systems.

-

In March, a technology consultant assisted the IRD and the Executive Secretariat technical assistance team stayed for one week.

-

As of 22 April, individuals filed more than 50,000 income tax statements and RTC requests via online transactions.

-

Additionally, more than 117,000 salary withholdings were processed on-line and the corresponding certificates were issued.

-

In May, technical assistance was continued, with a two-week visit from consultant J. Huertas.

-

The on-site technical assistance agreed has been rendered. Three out of the six scheduled visits have been made.

Bolivia: -

A diagnosis report and recommendations were presented regarding the development of the Galileo Project for the National Revenue Service.

-

As a result of this effort, a regular cooperation initiative was established to contribute in the advancement of the Galileo project, with a minimum of one visit in the period.

-

In May, two requests from the SIN were processed. One referred to assistance in the measurement of the collection potential and the other referred to a seminar on modern information systems. Comments have been sent and we are awaiting the answer by the SIN to determine the following steps.

Brazil: -

Preliminary meetings were held for potential cooperation efforts with the States; IDB and coordination staff from the states participated in the meeting. The first approach to present the technical assistance facilities that CIAT offers shall be made in Panama in June or July.

Ecuador: -

CIAT and the SRI subscribed a broad cooperation agreement.

-

Discussions were held on the terms of reference for consulting services on E-invoicing and Collection matters. Additionally, the Training and Studies' Directorate drafted the terms of reference for the implementation of the ethics' model. The terms of reference were reviewed with consultants.

-

In May, adjustments were made to the preliminary terms of reference for the proposed consulting services to facilitate the incorporation of officials from the administrations of the States of Brazil. The changes suggested by the SRI regarding consulting services on collection matters were received. The estimates for both consulting services were forwarded.

Panama: -

We had exchanges with Directors from the Federal Revenue Directorate to develop a technical assistance program to include technology areas, mainly in short-term matters regarding security and the modifications required to accommodate recent reforms; and, in the medium-term, a new technology platform. Additionally, organizational structure issues could be included. A joint mission with CAPTAC is foreseen on the week of 17 May.

-

In May, a meeting was organized to consider CIAT participation in the remediation processes of the security problems identified in the eTax Audit and for the implementation of amendments to Act 8. The DGI held it was unnecessary for the time being, but stressed the possibility of relying on CIAT participation as advisor in a longterm modernization process. This participation was based on a joint mission by CIAT with the IMF and the IDB.

Paraguay: The Executive Secretariat received an invitation to participate as bidder in a project to consolidate the system developed, which included maintenance, among others. After analyzing the Terms of Reference, the Executive Secretariat excused itself from

participating on the grounds that the financial conditions established would have required significant CIAT funding.

Peru: -

SUNAT Superintendent expressed interest in evaluating an agreement for Peru similar to the one recently subscribed with Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic: -

In the framework of the General Assembly, an agreement was subscribed with the General Revenue Directorate to protect information and systems' backup.

Trinidad and Tobago: -

Follow-up meetings were held with the Tax Administration Commissioner and we received and considered a request on potential cooperation with CIAT in measuring the tax gap.

-

In May, we considered the request by the Administration to prepare a technical assistance project to measure VAT evasion. The proposal was sent and the Board postponed it.

Crown Agents: -

4.4.

-

CIAT accepted an invitation from the Crown Agents to participate as experts in a taxation research project on a case by case basis for issues relative to Latin America and the Caribbean, promoted and financed by the British Development Agency.

Tax Administration Innovation Award: Nominations for the contest were received as of 30 November.

During the 44th General Assembly in Montevideo, Uruguay, we held the 2nd edition of the Tax Administration Innovation Award ceremony, rewarding the work conducted by the following countries in their respective categories: 1. Category: Integrity and Transparency - Internal Revenue Service (Chile) 2. Category: Efficiency - Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy) 3.

Category: Efficacy - General Tax Directorate (Portugal)

Program 5. Information and Publications.

Activities Completed:

5.1. Information System with Member Countries: -

Organization of the 11th Biannual Meeting of Correspondents.

-

Follow-up of the information delivered by the current Correspondents as well as consideration and follow-up of the new ones.

-

Follow-up of the answers to the letter and templates of the information to be completed on the Taxation Database as part of the strategy to restructure and strengthen this project.

-

Reminders were forwarded to obtain the answer from countries to the requirements issued earlier by the Executive Secretariat.

-

Maintenance, debugging, and update of the Contacts' Database.

-

Request for news to correspondents to update the CIAT Portal and Newsletter.

-

Forwarding and follow-up of surveys on CIAT products and services and information processing in order to draft the reports on compliance, quality and satisfaction, which shall be distributed to the corresponding areas in the Executive Secretariat.

-

Follow-up of queries and forwarding the answers received in the queries' service.

-

Registration of correspondents and representatives in the My CIAT service.

5.2. Publication: -

Publication and distribution of the Annual Reports for Barbados, Guatemala, Dominican Republic. (e-book and printed version) in Spanish and English.

-

Publication and distribution of the Technical Conference Reports: South Africa, Naples. (e-book and printed version) in Spanish and English.

-

Tax Administration Review No. 28 (e-book and printed version).

-

Design of templates for e-CIAT newsletters and news' alert.

-

e-CIAT Newsletter (2 languages), 11 editions (electronic version).

-

e-CIAT Newsletter special edition communication: General Assembly of Uruguay, Monograph Contest, Tax Administration Innovation Award, Human Resources Manual and certain Executive Secretariat activities.

-

Publication of the Human Resources Manual (e-book and printed version) in Spanish and English, handed out in the General Assembly of Uruguay.

-

Publication of the 2010 Activities' Calendar (2) languages; published on the eCIAT newsletter and the portal.

-

Preparation and distribution of all the promotional material (posters and triptychs) for the “Tax Administration Innovation Award�. (Spanish and English).

-

Drafting of the material for the 11th Biannual Meeting of Correspondents.

-

Publication of the instructive demos for CIAT services (Library, Extranet, Portal, and My CIAT). (In two languages.).

-

Publication of the Tax Collection Observatory in two (2) languages.

-

Brochure – Training Program 2009 -2010.

-

Banners on CIAT events.

-

Publication of the CIAT Theme Series, (2 editions) in Spanish and English.

-

Publication of the CIAT Theme Bibliography Series; two editions were published in both languages.

-

Support in the edition and publication of CIAT institutional documents.

-

Design of technical material for CIAT events.

-

April. Installation of the Adobe Suite to replace Page Maker.

-

Design activities for CIAT/AEAT/IEF Review, No. 29.

-

Preliminary design of covers for CIAT publications.

-

Style design for the new edition of the Tax Administration Review.

-

The edition work for papers presented in the 44th CIAT General Assembly was completed.

5.3. Internet Portal:

-

Implementation of changes in the “My CIAT” service.

-

Dissemination and registration of new users in the “My CIAT” service.

-

Inclusion of press releases that correspondents send to the "New events" section.

-

2010 activities' calendar (PDF); downloadable for portal users.

-

Dissemination of the new eCIAT information services and tax news' alerts.

-

Portal content maintenance and update.

-

Renaming and creation of new sections in the portal: Studies and Statistics, International Cooperation and Tax Queries.

-

The following sections were enabled in the Studies and Statistics area: Tax Parameters, Tax Collection Observatory and Tax Indicators.

-

My CIAT service: publication of the most relevant CIAT activities and technical publications.

-

Incorporation of new links in the "interesting links" section.

-

Downloadable e-documents in the portal.

-

New relevant information and/or documents sent by correspondents and other contributors were posted in English and Spanish.

-

User assistance for password requests and portal registration information.

-

Publication evaluation forms were enabled.

-

The successful papers in the "Tax Administration Innovation Award" were posted on the Portal in English and Spanish.

-

The documents currently posted on the portal were linked directly to the library.

5.4.

Extranet Portal:

-

Maintenance and update of portal contents.

-

CIAT Queries' Service administration.

-

Processing specific queries by correspondents and representatives sent by the CIAT Queries' Service.

-

Allocation of Extranet service passwords and access codes.

-

User-service guidance.

-

Users' database updating and maintenance.

-

Extranet users' registration and access code allocation were processed.

5.5.

Publications:

-

ICTs were used to design the e-evaluation forms and the areas involved participated in their evaluation, redefining the notions to be evaluated and harmonizing them with the integral evaluation system defined for the Executive Secretariat.

-

Electronic answer control was implemented to evaluate the answers received.

-

Incorporation of the Annual Reports' form (CIAT General Assemblies and Conferences).

-

In May, the publication and distribution of the annual report for the Technical Conference of Naples was completed.

-

Completion of the publication of the 44th CIAT General Assembly report.

Program 6. Internal Administration.

Activities Completed:

6.1 Administrative Procedures for Goods and Services:

-

Review of the processes in effect for procurement, quotation, audits, collective insurance, materials and supplies' acquisitions.

-

Maintenance of Executive Secretariat vehicles, miscellaneous equipment and internal services.

-

Special projects (remodeling of restrooms, IT room and complete replacement of the ceiling on the Executive Secretariat's premises; replacement of wooden doors with glass doors in the Library area, Internal Administration area and Missions' area).

-

Total remodeling of the Internal Administration and HR area (removal of panels in place, relocation of cable installations, paint, and furniture), floor polishing and paint work in the offices of the Executive Secretary, office of the Manager for Development and Institutional Events, office of the Director for International Assistance and Cooperation, office of the Director of Studies and Training, and the office of the Manager of Tax Studies and Research as well as the stairs in the ground, first and second floors.

Replacement of slats on the vertical blinds in the Internal Administration and HR area.

-

Reservation and purchase of air tickets for the Executive Secretariat's technical staff in working Missions.

-

Logistics support for the Executive Council meetings (20 July, 2009); Sub-Committee on Finance (26 August to 4 September, 2009); Meeting of the Technical Committee to Draft the Preliminary CIAT Strategic Plan (9 - 11 November, 2009); Correspondents' Meeting (18 - 20 November, 2009); Meeting of the Working Group on Expenditure Measurement (30 November -2 December, 2009); meetings of Working Groups like the Standing Committee on Ethics and Tax Administration (24 - 26 May 2010) and the Tax Administration Manual Update working group (29 and 30 June, 2010).

-

Remodeling works were started in the Accounting and Finance area.

6.2.

Human Resources' Management: -

Administrative activities: updating the new events' files (leaves, vacation, etc.) regarding Executive Secretariat officials; the vacation time was updated as well as the paid leave and leaves information.

-

The new performance assessment system was implemented for the promotion of Executive Secretariat officials; subsequently, the overall Executive Secretariat administrative and technical staff was subjected to the assessment and the productivity bonus was extended.

-

System Orange implementation for the Executive Secretariat staff.

-

Implementation and follow-up of the Biometric Fingerprint Time Clock, to control the arrival and leave times for CIAT Executive Secretariat staff.

-

Auction of the Mitsubishi Minibus.

-

Printing of signs with the new CIAT parking space information.

6.3 Financial and Budgetary Management.

Activities Completed: -

Online information was delivered on the budgetary allocation approved for fiscal year 2009-2010 on a consolidated and per-program basis.

-

Biannual update of the physical inventory and recording on the accounting records to update the General Ledger.

-

Monthly reports were filed on the status of funds available and other reports designed to supply information to users in the Center.

-

Between October and December we replied to all the requirements filed by the SubCommittee on Finance on its report stemming from the evaluation meeting held in August, 2009.

-

In December, formalities were completed with the financial institutions regarding the inclusion of the registered signatures of the new Executive Secretary and Attorney of the Center, the Director of Operations a.i., and the Manager of International Meetings and Institutional Development. In a similar formality, the signature of the outgoing Executive Secretariat was annulled.

-

In January, we completed the development and set up of the activities' scheduling system (Programs, Projects, Sub-Projects, Indicators and Goals for each area) and the preliminary budget for the 2010-2011 period, called P.O.A. (Annual Operating Plan), from which progress reports will be obtained regarding the budgetary allocation and operating activities.

-

We updated the accounts' structure, linking them to the budget allocations and P.O.A. activities, to be used as from fiscal year 2010-2011.

-

In January 2010, the Treasury activities regarding payroll payments were transferred to HSBC bank online banking service, since BNP Paribรกs closed its branches in Panama.

-

The preliminary audit process as of April, 2010 was completed in the course of May 2010.

-

We completed the Comparative 2009-2010 Budget Allocation and Internal Financial Statements report as of June 30, 2010, and the reports for fiscal year 2009- 2010, to submit them to the final external audit that shall start on 26 July, 2010.

6.4 Performance Control.

Activities Completed:

-

Follow-up on the completion of CIAT Programs and Activities Plans, Processes, and Budgets.

-

The monthly Report of Activities was drafted, with the results obtained from the performance assessment in each area, submitted in the monthly Meeting of the Planning and Assessment Committee.

-

A Comparative Study on the Attendance of Member Countries, Guest Countries and International Agencies invited to CIAT General Assemblies and Conferences between 2005 and 2009.

-

The Compliance Report for Member Countries was drafted and delivered. It was presented in the 11th Meeting of Correspondents.

-

Between November and December of 2009, we worked and supported the relevant areas in drafting the Annual Operating Plan (Projects, Sub-Projects, Indicators and Goals in each one, as well the Preliminary Budget for fiscal year 2010 - 2011).

-

The national staff in full was registered in the Social Security (only one person is pending based on medical reasons).

-

Drafting of a Document on the Attendance of Central American Member Countries in Events organized by CIAT between July 2008 and December 2009.

-

Update of the Functions in each role according to the Contracts in place for each national official.

-

Review of the Functions Procedures' Manual update.

-

Contingencies' Manual update.

-

Monthly update of the CIAT Products and Services System.

-

Report on the Activities' Plan Execution from 1 July, 2009 to 28 February, 2010 and Planned Activities from 1 March to 30 June, 2010.

-

Meeting agenda for the Executive Secretary and his team with Personalities, Agencies and Countries attending the 2010 General Assembly in Montevideo, Uruguay.

-

Report on the Participation of Czech Republic in CIAT General Assemblies, Technical Conferences and events held between 2005 and 2009.

-

Follow-up of the matrix to be implemented starting the following year for the request of pending information from Correspondents from Member-countries.

-

Follow-up of Pending Issues with the Executive Council and their completion.

-

Request and follow-up on the delivery of Mission Press Releases and Reports drafted by officials who travel in Missions on behalf of CIAT.

-

Ongoing support to the office of the Executive Secretary.

Program 7. I.C.T. Program 7. Information and Communications' Technology.

Activities Completed:

7.1.

Systems' Maintenance and User-support:

-

Installation of Office 2007.

-

Session on How to train yourself with the Microsoft Office 2007 Online Courses Tool.

-

Support in the implementation of Outlook Shared Calendars.

-

Update of Joomla-based systems.

7.2.

CIAT Technological Development:

-

Implementation of the Human Resources' System (Orange).

-

Design, construction and implementation of a System to plan and follow-up projects for fiscal year 2010-2011, by the name of P.O.A. (Annual Operating Plan).

-

Training courses' academic enrollment management system.

-

Implementation of the vacation allocation module per official under Orange.

-

Implementation of the first Intranet phase, connection to Orange to show the record of daily authorized leaves, monthly vacation and telephone directory of officials.

-

International Cooperation Database. Two proposals were made for the International Cooperation Office.

-

Creation of the France conference portal.

-

Implementation of additional Extranet services: Staff on Mission, Telephone Directory, Image Gallery.

-

Creation of online registration forms for the conference in Spanish, English and French.

-

Academic Enrollment database: only the queries' screen is pending, but the information entry screen is operative.

7.3.

Standing Committee on Information and Communications' Technology:

-

The CIAT comparative and benchmarking system was developed in a Web environment and with AJAX support, with standalone security mechanisms for catalog creation.

-

Design of an agreement to transfer information systems, good practices, studies, and knowledge in general regarding information and telecommunications' technologies among member countries. Member countries subscribed this agreement during the Technical Conference of Naples.

-

Inventory and analysis of the elements in the information systems developed by CIAT or with CIAT participation, with the potential to be replicated in other countries either partly or fully.

-

Web site and Web services' catalog results were presented in the CIAT benchmarking system. It was launched and acclaimed in the Meeting of Correspondents.

-

Also in this period, the correspondents from countries who did not participate in the group shall be enabled access for updates, thus expanding the base and usefulness of the system.

7.4.

Strengthening the CIAT Portal and Web Processes: -

We continued the strategy of using Open Source products.

-

We continued developing the taxation database.

-

We presented the modules on Treaties, Legislation and Country Profiles in the new Taxation Database in the 11th Meeting of Correspondents.

-

Final phase of the Taxation Systems Database system.

-

Enhancement of the International Meetings' Registration System.

-

Changes made in the International Meetings Database.

-

Implementation and support in the Library News' Alerts.

7.5.

Performance Improvement:

We continued reviewing Open Source software alternatives relevant to the Center.

-

Implementation of the Storage Network system.

-

Implementation of a new backup structure for the systems on hard drives.

-

Implementation of the CIAT Intranet System, which shall be under the responsibility of the Internal Administration area.

-

Implementation of the Orange Human Resources' System.

-

Implementation of the modifications to open the library to registered My CIAT users.

-

Implementation of the P.O.A system.

-

Implementation of the system to forward fortnightly news and daily Tax alerts.

-

Migration of the Extranet, Intranet and Trial Servers.

-

Migration of the Peach Tree Server.

-

Development of an interface to forward the electronic payroll to HSBC Bank (although before the end of the year, the Online Store Project for which it was created was cancelled).

-

Support to the DGI of France in the creation of the Technical Conference portal in three languages.

-

Procurement of mini-laptops for staff on mission.

-

Analysis of the best option to purchase a new UPS to replace the Symetra; the replacement was purchased and invoiced, but not installed since the decommissioning process took longer than planned.

-

Purchase of additional Office 2007 licenses.

-

Purchase of Adobe CS4 licenses for the publications' area staff.

-

Renewal of CIAT domain, www.ciat.org, for an additional nine-year period.

-

The antivirus license was renewed.

-

The academic enrollment system was launched as well as the International Cooperation Database.

8. I.C. Program International Cooperation Program It is worth highlighting that in spite of its creation in January 2010, the International Cooperation Office has made significant progress in favor of CIAT, by which we consider this contribution relevant for information purposes.

I.

Objective of the International Cooperation Area

To strengthen CIAT ties with member countries and associate-member countries, nonmembers, international agencies and other tax organizations in order to: 1. Coordinate agendas to provide more effective cooperation and spur synergies.

2. Involve specialized human resources and obtain material/financial means to:

a) Further projects to the benefit of CIAT-member countries. b) Efficiently develop inherent CIAT tasks.

3. Facilitate and promote cooperation among tax administrations and among tax administrations and organizations.

II. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

CIAT-related Organizations: African Tax Administrations Forum (ATAF) Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Capacity Building International (InWent) Caribbean Organization of Tax Administrators (COTA) Centre de Rencontres et d´Etudes des Dirigeantes des Administrations Fiscales (CREDAF).

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) Crown Agents EuroSociAL International Monetary Fund (IMF)/CAPTAC-DR Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) Central American Institute for Tax Studies (ICEFI) International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) International Fiscal Association (IFA) International Tax Compact (ITC) International Tax Dialogue (ITD) Intra-European Organization of Tax Administrations (IOTA) Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) United Nations Organization (UNO) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Central American Economic Integration Secretariat (SIECA) Tax Justice Network (TJN) South-South Sharing of Successful Tax Practices (S4TP) Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) – US Treasury.

III. Activities Completed: a) Events 1. Under CIAT organization

Event

Date/Venue

Status

III Electronic Invoice Workshop

16 - 18 March, 2010Mexico

The meeting successfully.

was

carried

out

Event

Date/Venue

CIAT/OECD Seminar on Tax Information Exchange

24 - 26 March, 2010Mexico

Electronic Invoice Technical Meeting

4 - 6 May, 2010 – Salvador de Bahía – Brazil

International Seminar CIAT/SRFB/ENCAT/IDB/SEFA Z MA/CONFAZ on fiscal Decentralization – general aspects and key processes

18 - 20 August, 2010– Maranhão-Brazil

CIAT/OECD “Transfer Pricing”

24 - 27 August, 2010 Ecuador

Workshop:

HR Seminar-Workshop

8 - 10 September, 2010 – Dominican Republic

CIAT/LAC Event. Meeting of study areas.

13 - 15 September, 2010 - Panama

Status The meeting was carried out successfully. 24 officials from 11 countries attended; featuring 5 speakers from the OECD, Mexico, Spain, United States and GA, on behalf of CIAT. Organized with the sponsorship and technical staff of the RF of Brazil and the participation of technical experts from the SII of Chile and the SAT of Mexico. It completed the design of a mechanism based on mutual trust among TAs that shall enable an administration to query relevant invoices, on matters of foreign trade as well as other tax proceedings. SV and RZ participated on behalf of CIAT. We are working on the agenda and other details regarding the seminar's organization. We still have to inform CeATS on the possibility of making a presentation.

The Agenda was defined with Ecuador and the OECD. Speakers were confirmed from Italy, Portugal, Chile, Canada, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, and the OECD. We are waiting for the confirmation by the speaker from France and designating the speaker from Brazil. Confirmed participants: 40 officials from Ecuador. On 20 May we sent countries a reminder. On 17 June we nd sent the 2 reminder. As of 20 July there are 11 participants registered: speakers from Ca, Chi, Ke, It, Po and participants from DR, CR, SP, Ke and Chi. CIAT is pending registration and hotel reservations.

Invitations: 17 May. Guest speakers: 11 May. Confirmed speakers: Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. Colombia designated a speaker to be confirmed. Chile was invited as speaker on 20 July.

(Send reminder on 23 July) Invitations were sent on Monday 17 May. Confirmed: IEF, IDB, ECLAC, OECD, Honduras, France, Colombia, Spain, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

Pending: IMF, Nicaragua, Mexico,

Event

Date/Venue

LAC/OECD Forum on Tax Policy co-organized by CIAT and the MEF of Panama

16 – 17 September, 2010 - Panama.

InWent/CIAT/IDB. Dialog and training on taxation news.

19 - 21 October, 2010 Quito - Ecuador.

CIAT/InWent meeting on Transfer Pricing

19 - 21 November , 2010 - Bogota

CIAT/OECD/InWent Transfer Pricing Workshop

January/February 2011 To be determinedGuatemala

Regional Seminar “The struggle against inequity and poverty in Montevideo/Uruguay”

October/November, 2011 - Montevideo, Uruguay.

Seminar: Electronic Invoice

To be determined – Trinidad and Tobago

IV Workshop on the Electronic Invoice

To be determined - Peru

CIAT/ECAT/SIECA. Workshop

To be determined

Status Ecuador, Chile and Brazil.

Agenda and letters of invitation have been defined. The OECD shall send invitations (still pending as of 7-21).

MEF shall pay for and hire everything. CIAT shall be in charge of handling registration: the participation of the President and/or Minister in the opening/closing ceremony and press conference pending confirmation.

CIAT shall contribute with: -Invitations to the TAs and support to the public sector's invitation. Contact InWent to agree on an invitation letter model and determine the forwarding date- URGENT. Discuss date modification.

Event with the public/private sector.

CIAT shall: -Forward invitations to TAs and support the public sector's invitation.

-Present a comparative study on TP norms in Latin America/ a selection of good practices and innovations/recommendations for effective TP management. Invitations in August/discuss message to be delivered in the seminar in Quito with InWent After SAT officials complete a CIAT course, the workshop shall be held.

InWent confirmed its collaboration and participation in the meeting and assumed translation and interpretation costs.

Budget: EURO 20,000 Start organization in September.

-Select and invite countries -Design agenda Budget: EURO 30,000 Trinidad and Tobago has expressed interest in conducting a seminar.

Should they confirm, invitations will be sent 5 months prior to the date of the meeting, as it has been communicated.

Peru requested being the venue of th the 4 Workshop on the Electronic Invoice. The CIAT ES has welcomed the news. SIECA is interested in participating in the workshop. Speak with SV. -Speak with SIECA to obtain more

Event

Date/Venue

Status

on TA Management.

CIAT/GTZ/ITC. Workshop on Auditing by sectors

First week in October, 2010 - El Salvador.

CIAT/IDB HR Meeting

To be determined

Seminar Invoicing

Second fortnight February, 2011 Panama.

CIAT/CAPTAC-DR.

in -

details. Pending answer from SIECA. - Identify speakers.

- Collaborate with the design of the program.

- Collaborate with the dissemination of the event.

Funding by UE/SIECA. Pending: -Answer from CA countries to the survey. Deadline: 30 July. As of 20 July: only one answer received (El Salvador); 23 July re-iterate.

- Confirm interest from El Salvador as host country/define exact date.

-Send invitations to CA countries.

-Call upon experts from experienced countries.

- Review and sign agreement with GTZ to hold the meeting.

-Talk to InWent about the possibility of inviting CAPTAC-DR, as speakers. (They will pay for their participation).

Completed: - ITC letter of introduction to CA Ministers with copy to Directors and Correspondents (sent by CIAT on 8 July).

--Survey to CA countries to define the topic (sent by CIAT on 13 July)-Budget (in coordination with ICTs) - Beneficiary countries: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic.

OTA (US Treasury) shall participate in this activity to provide speakers, technical assistance and training.

The IDB has developed a tool with a methodology to measure the level of advancement of customs administrations in terms of HR and identifying areas of improvement with technical assistance.

CIAT suggested a joint meeting whose content considers the CIAT HR Manual and the IDB tool.

Speak with MV and make a proposal for 2011.

-CAPTAC-DR shall pay for 3 people by country of the CA region + DR. -CIAT shall design the agenda jointly with CAPTAC-DR, send out invitations, call upon speakers and make presentations. CAPTAC-DR

Event

Date/Venue

Status shall not cover the cost of speakers.

E-mail MV and answer OV next week.

2.

Organized by other organizations

Event ECLAC Seminar on Tax Policy OECD Global Development

Forum

on

OECD Fiscal Initiative for LAC International Tax Compact (ITC) workshop "Joining Forces to Mobilize Domestic Revenues for Development" Seminar IMF/IDB: Custom Unions OECD Advisory Cooperation with Economies

Group for Non-OECD

XI Meeting of the Gaucho State Tax Administration

Date/Venue 25-28 January, 2010-Chile 28 January, 2010– Paris 25 January, 2010– Paris

25-27 January, 2010– Brussels

1 - 2 March, 2010 – Guatemala 29-31 March, 2010 – Vancouver, Canada 23-24 April, 2010–Gremado, RS Brazil

Meeting Core ICT Group/German Government

26 April, 2010 Brussels

OECD Tax Task Force

11 May, 2010– Paris

and

Development

Closing Meeting for Eurosocial

ONAT XIII International Taxation Seminar

Status MP presented the Collection Observatory.

MV participated.

MV participated.

90 government representatives from 24 countries and 9 international agencies met to identify key value added aspects for the ICT initiative. MV and SV participated on behalf of CIAT. SV presented CIAT products and services.

GA participated.

MV presented the experience gathered by CIAT in terms of ethics and the products developed.

MV participated as speaker in charge of the opening presentation "A Modern Vision of the Tax Administration".

GA and SV participated on behalf of CIAT. Discussions were held on strategic aspects regarding the consolidation of ICTs, the potential contribution of its partners, their working structure and the coordination with other working initiatives.

Based on the agreements reached in the January OECD meetings on taxation and development, the Task Force brings together the parties involved in this issue to assist in modeling the OECD taxation and development program. SV attended on behalf of CIAT.

7-9 June, 2010 Madrid

RA, AG and MV participated.

16 - 18 June, 2010– Cuba

MV and AG participated. The original event planned as the XIII International Seminar was cancelled for insufficient registrations. It was replaced by a seminar for ONAT officials and featured presentations by the CIAT Executive Secretary and the Director of Operations.

On such occasion, MV and AG met with

Event

Date/Venue

Seminar AECID/IEF “VIII Seminar on Education in Financial and Tax Administration”.

21-25 June, 2010- Training Center in Antigua, Guatemala

RA participated as speaker.

IOTA Conference

8 and 9 July, 2010- Brussels

MV participated. We were unable to present since IOTA had closed the agenda in 2009.

12 and 14, July, 2010 – Barbados

RZ participated and made a presentation on e-filing.

15 and 16 September, 2010– Istanbul

SV shall participate. Invitation was received.

Answer and registration pending. Asked the OECD about the possibility of making a presentation, they answered that given the meeting structure, this time it is impossible to accommodate a presentation by CIAT.

st

21 COTA General and Technical Assembly

OECD Forum Administration

on

Tax

DGII Anniversary Celebration.

AECID Seminar “Communication Strategies and Electronic Services in the TAs".

AECID Seminar “Building information systems to follow-up and analyze revenue and assess the impact of tax policy measures”.

CATA Conference

29 and 30 July, 2010– Dominican Republic 20-24 September, 2010- Training Center in Antigua, Guatemala 25-29 October, 2010 - Training Center in Antigua, Guatemala 10-16 October, 2010Abuja, Nigeria

UNO. Committee of Experts on International Tax Cooperation

18 - 22 October, 2010 in Geneva (Switzerland)

ICT Workshop

January 2011

CAPTAC-DR Organization of offices for the management of tax studies/transfer pricing issues CAPTAC-DR Tax Administration in general

Status the Minister of Finance of Cuba and the Head of the ONAT.

MV is scheduled to participate.

A presentation is scheduled.

A presentation is scheduled.

No participation is foreseen.

Michael Lennard promised to send an agenda and stated that a formal presentation by CIAT shall be impossible.

The invitation has not arrived, as Lennard informed (July); the meeting's name shall be changed.

Objective: identify demands and key topics of specific interest for developing countries and introduce them in the international fora and discussions.

November, 2010 - Costa Rica

Consider CIAT participation. There is a possibility of making a presentation.

30/31 2010

Consider CIAT participation. A possibility for a presentation exists.

August, -

Event

Date/Venue Dominican Republic

Status

4. Cooperation Agreements Activity Agreement with Ecuador CIAT-DGII Technical Cooperation Agreement for the Custody and Administration of Backups Agreement with the OECD CATA/CIAT Meeting IDB/BIRF/IMF Agreement with SIECA

Comment The agreement was subscribed with the SRI of Ecuador.

Subscribed in the General Assembly of Uruguay.

Subscribed in the General Assembly of Uruguay.

Both Executive Secretaries met on 5 July, 2010 in London.

During the mission to Washington DC, in February 2010, the possibility of subscribing cooperation agreements has been discussed.

In the meeting held in the CIAT General Assembly in Montevideo in April, 2010, SIECA ratified their interest in subscribing a cooperation agreement. Prepare draft agreement.

Cooperation Agreement with the Guardia Di Finanza

On a visit to Rome, the possibility of a cooperation agreement will be discussed.

Agreement CIAT/InWent

InWent sent a draft agreement. CIAT made a number of amendments.

We are awaiting InWent's answer.

Agreement CIAT/GTZ/ITC Agreement CIAT/OTAUS Treasury

We shall receive a draft agreement from GTZ. Consider an agreement. See progress in the Mission to the USA in July/2010.

5. Participation in fora or projects.

Activity LAC Initiative ICT Eurosocial I. Taxation ITD

Crown Agents

Eurosocial II

Comment CIAT participated in the opening ceremony of the LAC initiative in Paris, in January 2010.

CIAT is an ITC partner.

CIAT (MV, AG and RA) participated as representative of the Joint Authority for Latin America in the closing meeting of Eurosocial I, in June de 2010.

We rely on the support of the IDB and the OECD in order to integrate CIAT in the ITD. Discussions are underway with the IBRD and the IMF. We have received a proposal from Crown Agents to participate in a consortium to undertake technical assistance projects regarding tax research. On 6 July, 2010, MV met with people from Crown Agents to move forward in defining the project/s in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We received the terms and conditions for the bid. CIAT shall participate as an operating partner in the Consortium headed by FIIAPP-Spain.

Pending: finish the subscription in the PADOR (financial portion + strategy and methodology); prepare letter from CIAT to FIIAPP.

6. Other activities Activity Mission to Washington DC

Central America Mission Internship from the KRA of Kenya to the RF of Brazil Internship from the SIN of Bolivia to the DIAN of Colombia Meeting with the Technical Secretary of the Higher Presidential Commission for the Protection of International and Financial Services of Panama

Meeting with the Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Economy of Panama, Camilo Valdés

CAPTAC-DR/IDB/CIAT Mission to the DGI of Panama Mission Washington – USA OECD Integrity Framework Review to Brazil UNO

Comment From 16-19 February, meetings were held with the IRS, IMF, IDB, IBRD, USAID, US Treasury (OTA Section). Contacts with UNO personnel and the “New Roles for Global Finances”. See mission's report.

From 8 - 12 February, the following countries and institutions were visited: tax administrations from Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. CAPTAC, SIECA, ICEFI and GTZ. See mission's report.

From 19 -23 April 4, high officials from the KRA, visited the RFB to learn about IT control mechanisms regarding beverages and cigarettes.

From 26 - 30 April, 10 high officials from the SIN visited the DIAN to learn about organizational and management processes (operating and functional processes) of the DIAN. On Wednesday 12 May, 2010 a meeting was held with Mr. Ricardo Alba, to discuss a request for information relative to offices to process international and international cooperation affairs in CIAT countries.

We are currently working to compile the information.

On Friday 29 May we sent requests for information to: Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, USA, Mexico and Spain. Argentina has already answered and it is likely that we receive answers from: USA, Brazil, Chile, Spain and Mexico.

Called for Friday, 11 June. Mr. Valdés requested the consulting services and support of CIAT in the process to reform the current Bearer Shares' Act. Three topics arose: 1-Bearer shares: systems were selected among France, Germany, Seychelles, Spain and Uruguay. Request a norm and contact person for questions. Speak with Panama and request a questionnaire for the study. Subsequently, consider a Mega-meeting.

2- Transfer Pricing: organization of offices, management by the TA, structure. All the elements required for the effective implementation.

3- Tax treaties: powers to the different public offices regarding the functions of NEGOTIATION, CONSTRUAL and ENFORCEMENT. See experiences in Peru, Mexico, Chile and Colombia. Areas, roles, functions, procedures, number of officials, etc. Request questionnaire from Panama.

Discussions were held to organize CIAT transfer pricing courses in the future and having internships in different countries. The Seminar in Quito (August) and the Standing Committee on International Transfer Pricing were suggested.

On 17-21 May, MV, MP, AG, LC, FB and GA participated in different sessions. On 21 May joint CIAT/IDB/CAPTAC DR conclusions were presented. Final report in the drafting process by CAPTAC-DR. On 20 - 23 July, MV and SV organized a mission to Washington DC, in order to visit the OTA - US Treasury, IRS, IMF, IDB, the Tax Attaché of Brazil, New Rules and Debora Nolan.

A case study shall be conducted in the Secretariat of the Receita Federal do Brazil in order to provide knowledge on the operation of management systems for integrity in the organization. The OECD requested collaboration from CIAT. We have prepared three projects:

Activity

Activities Agenda 2010 International Cooperation Database Competent Authorities' Mailbox (NATI) Web Project

IBRD Technical Assistance/Training

ATAF (African Tax Administration Forum)

Visit to the Guardia Di Finanza

Visit to the Central Information Team from the AEAT of Spain

Comment 1. Electronic Invoice, 2. Strengthening of studies and research areas in the tax administrations of CIAT-member countries, through the implementation of a micro-simulation model.

3. CIAT Model on the Measurement of Tax Transaction Costs (CTT) rd The UNO showed their interest in the 3 project and requested adjustments on Monday 17 May. On 2 June, we held a telephone conversation with Lennard to discuss the project. On 3 June we sent an e-mail with answers to UNO observations. The UNO replied that they are working on the Project and shall answer in brief.

It is updated in real time. Last update: 15 July, 2010.

A template was developed and the system requirements were forwarded to the IT department. IT is developing a tool.

Tatiana's proposal.

On Friday, 16 July, a mega-meeting was held with Issel Perozo and we discussed CI's proposal for the Web. Next meeting has been scheduled for Friday, 23 July. Issel shall present preliminary tools. CI shall prepare a presentation/introduction for CI. As a result of the meeting held on 27 April, 2010 in Amsterdam, agreement was reached that CIAT/IBRD shall mutually convene for technical assistance projects in cases where joint action is required.

Likewise, CIAT offered its courses to the IBRD, to deliver them in other regions. Also, they explored the possibility of developing joint courses, but nothing concrete was defined.

In July, the IBRD requested the possibility of controlling and updating the tax legislation chapter of Puerto Rico. The answer is pending.

As a result of the meeting held in Montevideo, in April, 2010, agreement was reached with the ATAF, to cooperate in the organization of the Executive Secretariat, based on the experience CIAT has gathered. A technical assistance visit in Africa was offered, but not on a pro-bono basis and/or a visit to CIAT to learn about organizational and management aspects.

Topics for discussion: rd Date: 3 week in September: 20 -24 September 2010 Duration: 3 days CIAT/GdF/Countries + 1 day CIAT/GdF. Profile: authorities from the Intelligence/auditing area from TAs of Latin American and African countries.

Invitations to representatives from TAs of Latin American countries + Africa.

Agenda: to be drafted by the GdF, considering the following topics: presentation of the GdF structure, organization of the Italian TA (MEF, Agenzia delle Entrate, GdF), visit to the GdF school, visit to the Minister of Economy and Finance (TBC) Once the date is confirmed by the GdF, CIAT shall send the invitation to the Representatives of its member countries, stating the event's objective, profile and agenda.

The letter shall be sent prior to 1 July this year.

Preferably for English-speaking participants.

We are awaiting the answer from SG with the confirmation from Italian Authorities to start inviting countries.

Confirmed for the week following the technical conference (25 - 27 October, 2010). The agenda was defined, invitations were sent (13 July) - Deadline for answers 30 August. Repeat invitation on 15

Activity

Visit to Mexico (SAT) “Transfer Pricing”. CIATInWent

Visit to Argentina (AFIP) “Transfer-Pricing”. CIATInWent Visit from officials of the SAT of Guatemala to the CRA of Canada.

Topic: Ethics/HR

Mega-meeting with the Chairman of CeAT from Argentina

SIN Bolivia: request for assistance.

SIN Bolivia: request for internship program (Request from SIN on 28 May)

Comment August.

- On 16 July a request was forwarded to the SAT of Mexico to serve as the venue for the visit in November, 2010. Repeat on 23 July.

- The Agenda has been completed.

- Confirm venue and date.

- Select and invite countries.

Budget: EURO 25,000 -An authorization request was sent to the AFIP. -To be determined -Draft agenda.

Budget: EURO 25,000 As a consequence of a request by the SAT, on 27 May, 2010 a meeting was held with Bruce Snider to coordinate a visit with the CRA. Date: to be confirmed. Agenda: to be confirmed. Number of officials: 3.

Spanish/English interpretation shall be provided.

A virtual meeting between the CIAT ES and the Chairman of CeAT is being coordinated to discuss the following issues, among others.

-To request, at CeAT initiative to AFIP the possibility of coming into contact with CIAT to avoid competition issues. This is not a request we are in a position to make, since it would generate discomfort.

-Access to statistical information and good practices from sub-national tax administrations in Argentina.

-To consider the possibility of offering technical assistance projects jointly with CeATs. In order to identify a specialized consultant to conduct the study and the methodology to determine the tax collection potential in Bolivia. On 05-26-10 the consultant's CV was forwarded. A technical assistance visit from CIAT/Consultants is foreseen. To date, Bolivia has not answered.

The SIN has planned to implement the biometric taxpayers' registry, for such purpose, they are asking whether it is possible to organize an internship in a country with a successful experience in this matter.

Pending answer from Bolivia, since Mexico is available.