Page 4 - Data-driven Tax Administration

Foreword

I’m delighted as IOTA’s new Executive Secretary to
welcome you to our latest e-book ‘Data-driven tax
administration.’
You will find articles from many of our members who took
an active role in the 20th IOTA General Assembly in
Bucharest in July. It was a very special occasion and also
marked our 20th anniversary.
The theme of the General Assembly was “Data driven tax
administration” and the presentations, debates and
discussions held during the event are well reflected in the
articles included in this edition.
Changes taking place throughout the international tax community mean there is a greater
call for more tax transparency among both individuals and businesses and the aim is for this
to be achieved by large scale data exchanges between tax authorities.
Projects such as BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting), AEoI (Automatic Exchange of
Information) and CRS (Common Reporting Standard) are resulting in partner countries
introducing, implementing and adopting new data collection and exchange mechanisms
which represent an additional challenge to their already busy agendas. The amount of
information they will gather will also mean more responsibility and accountability on their
part – both to their governments and to the whole of society.
In this e-book you will find material describing how these mechanisms will be put in place
so countries can respond to the challenges of exchanging more information with each other.
It also covers issues such as Big Data and co-related issues such as data protection and
transparency.
IOTA’s member tax administrations explain their practical experiences on automation, data
analytics, new anti-fraud and anti-avoidance systems, new solutions concerning FATCA
(Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), AEoI, CRS and models of predictive analysis.
It is clear these changes require the recruitment of a new and highly-skilled labour force and
that tax administrations have to change their structures accordingly. The move to the digital
world is inevitable and so close cooperation with other stakeholders and service providers is
vital if these changes are to work successfully.
I hope you will find this material useful, thought-provoking and I wish you an enjoyable read.

Miguel Silva Pinto
Executive Secretary of IOTA

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