Part 1: Joint Seminar on the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) and Practical Training Exchange of Information on Request (EOIR)

This is a joint initiative with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), the World Bank Group (WBG), New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (NZIRD) and the Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA).

Objectives of the Virtual Seminar Tax evasion and the related problems of money laundering and corruption are global concerns, with common roots, that reduce government revenue and undermine trust in the tax system. However, the impact of tax evasion in developing countries is particularly acute since it deprives governments of resources that could otherwise support sustainable development. The G20, as a result, mandated the Global Forum to counter tax evasion by monitoring the implementation of tax transparency standards, and promoting tax cooperation and exchange of information (EOI) among tax administrations. Many countries have agreed to fight tax evasion by joining the Global Forum and benefit from the recent improvements of the global EOI architecture by increasing the number and quality of outgoing requests to their treaty partners.

Most of these countries have also signed the amended Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC), which provides for comprehensive mechanisms for tax cooperation between states in the assessment and collection of taxes, creating the global EOI network required to implement the EOI standards effectively.

This event will allow participants to grow their capacity in EOI, with a focus on MAAC, as the most advanced international legal instrument for international tax cooperation and the key tool for delivering the global tax transparency agenda. The seminar will allow participants to be familiar with the key features of the MAAC, the process to becoming a party to the MAAC, and ways to take advantage of the MAAC to better fight tax evasion and protect tax revenues.

The second part of the event will focus on the institutional arrangements for the effective implementation of EOI on request (EOIR). The training will provide participants improved awareness of the steps necessary to organize an EOI Unit and manage EOI processes, and will help participants plan improvements in implementing EOIR in practice.