A videoconference was held on 8 August 2017 between the IOTA Secretariat and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to discuss the development of Knowledge Sharing Platform for Tax Administrations (KSPTA), including its governance, functionalities and content. Developed and currently administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, the KSPTA prototype is a global online tool designed to promote sharing of tax knowledge and expertise, and to connect experts on all aspects of tax administration. During the videoconference Mr Miguel Silva Pinto, Executive Secretary, Mr Eugenijus Soldatkovas and Mr Mostafa Amini, tax experts from the IOTA Secretariat together with Mr Bruce Snider, Director of International Relations and Treaties Office, Ms Angela Baroncea and Ms Katie Sanscatier, managers from the CRA explored opportunities and benefits for IOTA to join KSPTA.
The KSPTA has been conceptualised to foster co-operation among the tax community and to broaden access to experts and expertise to support capacity development and, as such, is available to all tax administrations and international and regional tax organizations.
The KSPTA includes key functionalities such as a ‘library’ component to support access to information and self-study, an ‘event management’ component to centralize training coordination and management, and a ‘communities of practice’ component to allow for ongoing real-time interactive support from tax experts. The architecture of the site is designed around a common language of building blocks of effective and modern tax administration.
The KSPTA allows for content to be created, branded, populated and managed by the owner tax administration or organization. Through creation of a hub, a country or tax organization can leverage the KSPTA functionalities while maintaining control and autonomy over their own content.
The KSPTA provides opportunities to:
• create connections with tax officials from around the world who share similar areas of interest;
• broaden access to reference and training material regardless of geographical location; and
• share their best practices and knowledge with all the tax administrations
The KSPTA is currently in prototype form and being used by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), CIAT (Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations), CATA (Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators), ITC (International Tax Compact), Canada, the United Kingdom and Italy, and many other tax organizations and countries have signaled their intention to come on board.
The CRA is also focusing effort on developing content for the KSPTA, working directly with interested organizations and countries. Building on the experience of early adopters, the KSPTA will transition from a prototype to its end-state solution in the summer of 2018.
IOTA Secretariat will discuss further possibilities to collaborate with the CRA regarding the KSPTA at the next meeting of the IOTA Executive Council in Budapest on 11-12 September 2017.