IOTA Talks is a regular digital event designed for Principal Contact Persons (PCPs) and Shadow PCPs aiming to give a better understanding of decisions made by the Executive Council, forthcoming events and other IOTA activities. The second IOTA Talks, held on 15th December 2020, focused on the outcomes of the 123rd Executive Council Meeting.
IOTA’s Forum on Implementation of Measures to Counter Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was held digitally on 8th-10th December 2020. 144 participants from 30 countries came together to identify best practices in the way Tax Administrations implement key BEPS Actions. The Forum on BEPS also aims to create opportunities for its members to work collaboratively towards meeting the emerging challenges of implementing the BEPS measures.
Lithuanian State Tax Inspectorate (STI) just recently has realized 6.4 million euros from the sale of cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum and Monero) seized by law enforcement authorities back in February 2020.
Notice of Change in the position of President of the Slovak Financial Administration. International Relations and Cooperation Department of the Slovak Financial Administration informs about the recent change in position of President of the Slovak Financial Administration.
On 1 December 2020, Mr. Jiří Žežulka was appointed to the position of President of the Slovak Financial Administration. This appointment is the result of the public hearing selection procedure.
The coronavirus epidemic posed an unexpected challenge to both the world and Armenia. In addition to huge healthcare problems, economic and social challenges emerged. During the epidemic, significant sectors of the economy were forced into inactivity, thus complicating tax collection for the country. In this situation, the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia (SRC) was able to set the right priorities in the difficult process of securing tax revenues.
The 2020 IOTA Forum on Combating VAT Fraud took place 25th-26th November, where more than 120 participants gathered from 35 IOTA Member Countries in the cyberspace. This year’s Forum, which gathers once each year during its two-year mandate, focused on two main topics: new VAT fraud trends and future risks as consequence of Covid-19.
THUNDER 2020 was a global environmental monitoring operation coordinated by the WCO and INTERPOL on a large scale, which was simultaneously implemented by several customs administrations across multiple jurisdictions, mobilising 103 countries against wildlife and forest crime, under the global customs theme of the year: “Customs promote the Sustainability of People, Prosperity and the Planet”. Portugal took part in operation THUNDER 2020, with the participation of the Tax and Customs Authority, namely through the Customs who carried out controls on maritime, air and postal routes, with the support of ICNF – Nature and Forest Conservation Institute.
On 23rd November 2020, IOTA obtained an approval on the prolongation of the ISORA Chairmanship for one more year at the Annual Meeting of the ISORA Technical Working Group. IOTA will lead the ISORA Technical Working Group and the ISORA Executive Council for another term. In general, the chair rotation period between ISORA partners (including CIAT, IOTA, IMF and OECD) lasts one year.
In February 2019, the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia have launched a new project, aimed to introduce automatic VAT refund system. Since then the system was subjected to gradual modification and beginning with November 2020 the system turned fully automatic, where excess VAT amount is automatically credited on taxpayers' bank account without sending a payment request. This reform is expected to support business taking into account the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sixth Regional Meeting on BEPS for Eurasian countries took place virtually on 17th-19th November 2020. It was hosted by the Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA). Over 100 delegates from 28 countries, international and regional organisations, business and civil society participated in the event.
