Melbourne, Australia hosted the fifth meeting of the OECD Global Forum on VAT 20-22 March, 2019. The Forum welcomed around 300 representatives from over 100 countries and jurisdictions across the globe together with officials from international organisations.
Massimo Morarelli, our international tax expert represented IOTA in this Forum and participated as one of the panelists to the plenary session on VAT/GST Policy, Administration and Compliance during the second day of the Forum.
The session itself provided conclusive remarks of the working day and focused on the effective anti-fraud strategies, potential of technology to enhance compliance and administration, and to assist jurisdictions in reducing VAT/GST fraud.
Massimo in his speech reflected on the potential for greater administrative cooperation at a global level in respect of exchange of information and recovery, and also highlighted how IOTA worked with its member tax administrations in a Forum on Combating VAT fraud, addressing specific issues on how to detect and prevent fraud in respect of risky sectors.
Over its three days, the fifth OECD Global Forum meeting involved a wide range of discussions on the key policy and operational challenges faced by VAT/GST authorities across the globe. In particular, the discussions focused on the challenges faced in the era of digitalisation and globalisation and the challenges associated with fraud and non-compliance. The discussions highlighted the importance of the international standards developed by the OECD to assist tax authorities in addressing these challenges effectively and consistently and how to develop common and coordinated initiatives in this field among OECD and international/regional organisations.