The 5th Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum (BRITACOF) themed “Deepening Tax Administration Cooperation for High-Quality Belt and Road Development” was convened in Hong Kong, China on 24 September 2024. More than 500 delegates, including heads and deputy heads of tax authorities from nearly 50 jurisdictions and representatives and experts from 13 international organizations and more than 40 world-renowned enterprises attended this event both on-site and remotely.

 

The 5th BRITACOF is hosted by Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong, China, aiming to pool wisdom and share insights in terms of improving tax environment, enhancing tax administration capacity, promoting tax administration in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) jurisdictions.

 

The Forum is comprised of Council Meetings and the Plenary Sessions. The moderator of Council Meetings is Mr. Wang Daoshu, Executive Secretary of the BRITACOM Secretariat and Deputy Commissioner of the State Taxation Administration (STA) of China. On 24 September, the Council Meeting declared Mr TAM Tai-pang, Commissioner of Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong, China, the President of the 5th BRITACOF and Chair of the BRITACOM Council, introduced the change in the BRITACOM Council Vice-Chairs, Mrs. Jeneba Kpaka Bangura, Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) of Sierra Leone, assumed the position automatically, announced the establishment of the New BRITA, the BRITA•Algiers, and introduced New Advisory Board Member Mr. David Watkins, leader of the Asia-Pacific Tax Insights & Policy group at Deloitte. The Council Meeting also presented the seven outcomes which will be released on 26 September.

 

The Plenary Session lasted three days between 24 and 26 September. On the first day, at the Opening Ceremony, Mr. John Lee, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, graced the event with his presence and delivered a welcome address to all the delegates.

 

 

  

Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia delivered his keynote speech, he stated that as the international community has become increasingly interconnected, full cooperation and mutual benefits have become the demands of the times for tax administrations of all countries to cope with risks and challenges; the BRITACOM, as a key platform in the field of international tax administration, can help all parties to cooperate to enhance their ties, exchange experiences and build consensus, and find effective solutions to address risks and challenges through collaboration. As a key platform in the international tax area, the BRITACOF can help the cooperative parties to enhance contacts, exchange experiences, build consensus and find effective solutions to risks and challenges through collaboration.

 

Mr. Hu Jinglin, Commissioner of the State Taxation Administration of China, noted that under the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative, the BRITACOM has been in development for more than five years, and all parties have worked hand in hand to achieve fruitful results. China's tax authorities have fully implemented the series of consensus reached at the previous forums, and further promoted tax administration in accordance with the law, strictly regulated the way of tax administration, further promoted digital transformation of tax administration, effectively enhanced the efficiency of tax administration, further promoted strict tax administration, effectively prevented the risks of tax administration, and further promoted coordinated tax administration to continuously gather the synergy of tax administration, and actively acted as the builder of practical and efficient cooperation mechanism, the maintainer of the market-oriented, rule of law-oriented and internationalized business environment, and the guardian of the business environment to strengthen the global economy and to promote the development of tax administration and cooperation. It will actively act as a builder of pragmatic and efficient cooperation mechanisms, a defender of a market-oriented, rule-of-law, internationalized and business environment, and a contributor to the strengthening of global economic tax governance.

 

Mr. Wang Daoshu, Executive Secretary of BRITACOM Secretariat, updated the work progress of the BRITACOM. Thereafter, Commemorative Plaques were awarded to Chairs of the Task Forces. Before the opening of the Forum, Mr. Wang Daoshu moderated Council Meeting of the BRITACOF, at which Mr. Tam Tai-peng, Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong, China, was announced as Chairman of the fifth Forum and Chair of BRITACOM Council , and Mrs. Jeneba Kpaka Bangura, Commissioner of the Sierra Leone Revenue Authority, took over the post of Vice-Chair of the Council. The joining of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority as a BRITACOM Council Member Tax Administration and the establishment of a new BRITA, the BRITA•Algiers, was announced.

 

Prior to the commencement of the Opening Ceremony, a dedicated session of the Business and Industry Tax Dialogue was held. During this session, representatives from various business entities were invited to share their experiences and insights regarding the potential for improvement in the tax environment from their respective perspectives. Additionally, these representatives engaged in discussions with representatives from the tax authorities. Subsequently, the Opening Ceremony is followed by keynote speeches and panel discussions. High-profile speakers would deliver technical presentations and conduct deep discussions on topics of Raising Tax Certainty, Promoting Tax Administration Digitalization, Improving Tax Environment, Reinforcing Capacity Building of Tax Administration, and Optimizing Administration Measures in Financial Sector to Reduce Compliance Cost. The 5th BRITACOF will conclude successfully on September 26, with the full agenda completed and nine key outcomes announced.

 

Looking ahead, the BRITACOM will continue to play its role as a bridge to strengthen the cooperation among parties of the BRITACOM, and make unremitting efforts to contribute to the building of a growth-friendly tax environment, benefiting BRI jurisdictions and other developing economies.