Y7n8b by CIAT

ISSN 1684-9833 • Year 7 / No. 8 / June 26, 2015

New Alejandro Juárez Espíndola, assumed office as Director of Training and Development of Human Talent From June 15, 2015 took office as Director of Training and Development of Human Talent of CIAT, Mr Alejandro Juárez Espíndola of Mexican nationality. Mr. Juárez was elected in the month of may 2015, after an international tender, based on its indepth knowledge and years of experience of training in tax administration, development of staff and management as well as their knowledge of the subjects of taxation…more

Blog Lifting the small boats By: Andre Georges Dumoulin Last Wednesday, on June 17, IMF General Secretary Mrs. Christine Lagarde was speaking at "the great Catholic conferences" in Brussels. The topic of her brilliant speech, "Promoting the small boats” was how to deal with social inequality… Of virtual informers and others By: Raúl Zambrano A very interesting initiative recently used in Panama City is called the "tweeting pothole": A television channel has placed sensors in potholes in the city streets, which are struck whenever a vehicle falls into one of the potholes…

News from the Executive Secretariat Call for the seventh edition of the CIAT-AEAT-IEF Research Scholarship The Institute for Fiscal Studies of Spain (IEF), under the current Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the State Secretariat of Finance and the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT) and the IEF, announce the seventh edition of the Research Scholarship CIAT - AEAT - IEF, which is a flexible and practical mechanism to motivate tax officials from member countries to analyze and research tax topics directly related to their daily management. In this edition the selected topics are: i) Legal and operational regulations to reduce tax litigation: comparative analysis and proposals; and ii) challenges in the application of the anti-abuse provisions by the tax administrations. The deadline for submitting applications is July 30, 2015. See announcement (Spanish only)

Virtual courses opening for the second term of 2015 Professional development results from good career planning; it integrates aspects that enrich or improve a person in order to achieve his or her goals within the organization. In order to facilitate such professional development, the CIAT makes the present Training Program available to all member countries officials, with an extensive range of virtual products allowing them to strengthen and update their skills and knowledge. During the second half of 2015, we will be offering the following courses: • • • •

Diploma in Taxation - 4th. Edition, which begin on August 3, 2015; The deadline for registration is July 3, 2015. Course on Transfer Pricing - 5th. Edition - English version, which will begin on September 14, 2015; the deadline for registration is August 14, 2015 Diploma in Tax Administration - 4th. Edition, which will begin on October 19, 2015; the deadline for registration is September 18, 2015. Course on Control of Institutions and Financial Operations – 10th. Edition, which will begin on October 26, 2015; the deadline for registration is September 25, 2015.

For further information please write to mperez@ciat.org or go to the Products and Services section - Training - Online Courses where you will find the brochure with general information on these courses. Working Group on Collection and Recovery In the framework of the cooperation agreement between CIAT and the GIZ from Germany, and under the auspices of the SAT of Mexico, the meeting of the Working Group on collection and recovery was held in the city of Mexico on June 16 to 18. The Working Group was formed by representatives and experts from the sponsoring organizations and delegates from the collection and recovery areas of the tax administrations of Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay. The purpose was to establish a network of experts in these topics, exchange knowledge and best practices, and define content for the first draft of a Manual on collection and recovery. As a result, we have identified more than ten aspects that require further analysis at the IberoAmerican level, and over 60 best practices implemented by the tax administrations of the attending countries. According to the schedule, the Executive Secretariat of the CIAT plans to publish the Manual in October of this year.

First 2015-2016 edition of the official University Master's Degree in Public Finance and Financial and Tax Management. Specialty in Tax Administration We are pleased to announce that registration are open for the first edition of the official Master's Degree in Public Finance and Financial and Tax Management. It is an official Master offered by the National University of Distance Education (UNED) of Spain, jointly with other Spanish institutions, such as the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IEF), ICEX Spain Export and Investments and the Spanish Agency of international co-operation for development (AECID). It also has the collaboration of the State Agency for Tax Administration (AEAT) of Spain and the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT). This Master is the new version of the International Master in public finance and tax administration that has been developed with great success during the last eleven years. It has been adapted to the demands of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). It is a university post-graduate program directed specifically to the Latin American scope, created for improving the capacity of designing and implementing tax policies. To do this, the program provides high-level academic and professional training on topics such as the organization, design, planning and management of tax systems, incorporating the trends and best practices in these fields. All this with an applied approach and from a comparative perspective. The Master will start on September 14, 2015 and will be extended until 16 September 2016. The curriculum will be developed over two semesters. The deadline for submitting the application is on July 20, 2015. For more details, you can check the following information: Para mayores detalles, podrá revisar la siguiente información: General information, Program

CIAT Executive Secretary participates in FEBRAFITE Congress

The 10th National and 5th International FEBRAFITE Congress was held from May 31 to June 3, 2015 in the city of Bento Gonzalvez, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on the topic " State Reform Social and Tax Justice". FEBRAFITE, an organization that brings together the Tax Administrations Associations of the States of Brazil, invited the CIAT Executive Secretary, Mr. Márcio F. Verdi to make a presentation on "Measuring the Tax Administrations Costs" and the Director General of the Tax Administration of Finland, Mr. Pekka Ruuhonen, who gave a presentation on the tax system in his country. Related New: 10th National and 5th International FEBRAFITE Congress

The CIAT Director of International Cooperation and Taxation visits the Tax Administration of Trinidad and Tobago to strengthen cooperation actions In the framework of the collaboration program between the German Cooperation Agency GIZ

and CIAT, on June 10 and 11, the Director of International Cooperation and Taxation, Mr. Isaac

Gonzalo Arias E. visited the Internal Revenue Division (IRD) of Trinidad and Tobago, in order to identify opportunities for mutual cooperation. After the meeting with the President of the Tax Administration Board, Ms. Allison Raphael, and the Board members, a special interest has been shown in promoting the effective implementation of controls related to the abusive manipulation of transfer pricing and, in general, to strengthen the tax administration capacity for controlling international harmful tax planning.

Training workshop on the tax treatment of revenues from services in conventions to avoid Double Taxation In the framework of the cooperation programme between CIAT and the Office of financing for development (FfD) of the Economic and Social Department (DESA) of the United Nations (UN), on June 1 to 5 the training workshop on the tax treatment of income for services in the conventions to avoid double taxation was held in Panama City, Panama. This is the second course on treaties that both organizations offer to Latin America and the Caribbean countries. In the three (3) first days, professors Brian Arnold (Canadian Tax Foundation) and Graeme Cooper (University of Sydney) covered the main aspects of the United Nations Model Tax Convention, along with regional experts Carlos Protto of the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance of Argentina, Juan Carlos Perez Pena of the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico, and Álvaro Romano of the Uruguay Tax General Directorate. During the last two (2) days, professors Arnold and Cooper, along with Liselott Kana of the Internal Revenue service of Chile and member of the Expert Committee on International Cooperation in Tax Matters of the UN, presented the practical portfolio designed to help developing countries to analyze and better face the risks generated by the tax bases erosion and profit shifting in relation to revenues for services. For this purpose, the experience of Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay were analyzed

This workshop was attended by officials from fifteen (15) countries from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our Member Countries

National Integrated Tax and Customs Administration (SENIAT) appoints new CIAT correspondent The Superintendent of the National Integrated Tax and Customs Administration (SENIAT), Mr. Jose David Cabello Rondon, has appointed Mrs. Hatzen Carolina Mendoza López, SENIAT National Intendant of Internal Taxes, as new CIAT correspondent of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

First Edition 2015-2016

University Master's

Member countries news Argentina Argentina - and Georgia, joined together to enhance tax and commercial transparency Argentina, through AFIP, signed an agreement to exchange Customs information with Georgia, with the aim of safeguarding the bilateral safe and transparent foreign trade, in addition to preventing illegal acts harming financial, tax and commercial interests. María Luisa Carbonell Correspondent

Brazil WCO elects Ernani Checcucci as new Capacity Building Director The World Customs Organization has held its Annual Meeting in Brussels from June 11 to 13, 2015, with participation of the Directors General of Customs representing the WCO 180 members’ countries. During this meeting, Mr. Ernani Argolo Checcucci Filho, Sub-Secretary of the Customs and International Relations Sub-Secretariat of Brazil, was chosen as the new Capacity Building Director of the World Customs Organization (WCO). More information

Bolivia

The SIN collected Bs 22,590.6 million until May; highlights VAT, IT and IUE The national tax service (SINI) collected Bs 22,590.6 million until May 2015, 3% more compared to the previous period. However, in regards to the collection of internal taxes excluding the direct tax to the hydrocarbons (IDH) and the special tax on hydrocarbons and their derivatives (IEHD) - the growth was 13%, said the Executive Chairman, Erik Ariñez Bazán. Juana Patricia Jiménez Soto Correspondent Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela The SENIAT registered a surplus of 36.5 billion bolivares in May The Superintendent National of Customs and Taxation, Jose David Cabello Rondón, informed that from January to May, 351,19 billion bolivares were collected, which represents a compliance of 188,3 percent of the 186,52 billion bolivares assigned as a goal for this period. Hatzen Carolina Mendoza López Correspondent Costa Rica Signs OECD multilateral agreement of automatic exchange of information The Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) was also signed by Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia and New Zealand. It is an administrative agreement, which develop the automatic exchange of information established in the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Fiscal Matters, which is in turn, the most complete multilateral instrument on Exchange and cooperation in tax matters. Maribel Zúñiga Cambronero Correspondent

Chile Taxes declared in Operation Income grew by 8.2% in real value compared to the previous year A total of 3.227.259 taxpayers, 5.5% more than the previous year, submitted their tax return within the framework of the operation income 2015, according to the internal revenue service and the General Treasury of the Republic, presenting the consolidated results of the process. Bernardita Moraga Correspondent

Dominican Republic DGII revenues amounted to RD$ 24,076.5 MM in may 2015 According to the collection report issued by the Department of Economic Studies of the DGII, the goal estimated in the State budget for the month of may it attained a level of 96% compliance. As for the period January-may 2015, accumulated revenues reached RD$ 141,489.2 billion, representing a growth of 7% by eliminating extraordinary revenues for both periods. Nieves Vargas Collado Correspondent

Honduras

In information operations, the DEI manages to increase its taxpayers base These DEI operations are based on a series of strategies and actions, reflected in the Strategic Plan and that vary according to the type or segment of taxpayers. Through this operation, a change in taxpayers behavior is expected; i.e., the inscription of the informal, as well as the Declaration and the voluntary payment of obligations Gabriel Perdomo Correspondent News IBFD Cooperation IBFD-CIAT Go to News