The Virtual Seminar on Raising Tax Certainty was held on 28 March 2024, attracting more than 260 representatives from BRITACOM Member Tax Administrations, Observers, the Advisory Board and business from over 20 jurisdictions. Participants were attentive at the conference, actively participated in the online polls and had extensive exchanges with speakers on key topics and issues during the Q&A session.

 

At the seminar, Mr. Logan Wort, the Executive Secretary (ES) of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) shared the African experience and practices on improving tax certainty. Mrs. Marijana Markovic, the head of Section for Marketing and Public Relations, Taxpayer Services and Education Department in the Tax Administration of the Republic of Serbia, introduced the recent progress in taxpayer services in Serbia, their future plan to build the client-oriented approach to taxpayers and raise taxpayers’ voluntary compliace level. Mr. David Watkins, the partner at Deloitte in Sydney commented on the concept of the tax certainty and expressed the ATO’s advice and guidance on raising tax certainty. Ms. Ng Pei San,the Tax Director in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, presented insight in Singapore’s practices in dispute prevention and resolution mechanisms in both the domestic and the international context. Mr. Bruno da Silva, the legal Advisor at the Financial Services Bureau of Macao SAR, emphasized the importance of General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAARs) and their utilization to the tax certainty.

 

The virtual meeting was preceded by the Task Force Meeting on Raising Tax Certainty. The co-chairs, members of raising tax certainty task force, and the BRITACOM Secretariat attended the meeting. 

 

The Task Force Meeting and the Virtual Seminar on Raising Tax Certainty facilitate the sharing of best practices among BRITACOM parties, help to improve the outcome of the Raising Tax Certainty task force, which will be released at the fifth BRITACOF, and contribute to the building of a growth-friendly tax environment.