South-South Sharing of Successful Tax Practices (S4TP) in the areas of Resource Taxation and Transfer Pricing

Date: November 30, 2008

Time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Venue: Room 2, Waterhole/Laffan area (TBC), Sheraton Hotel, Doha, Qatar

This objective of this High-Level Panel is to further South-South cooperation in the area of taxation, including tax administration. Its founding principle is that domestic sources of revenue, largely domestic taxes, are potentially the most sustainable source of financing for development. Increasing the collection of domestic taxes can contribute to greater government accountability, lower incidence of public corruption, and demonstrated reduction in poverty and unemployment.

This meeting will explore opportunities to expand developing and emerging market countries’ voices in the development of international tax norms, a timely topic for Doha in light of the Draft Negotiating Text language on the importance to development of international tax cooperation and on the possibility of an intergovernmental status for the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. This panel will focus on transfer pricing and pressing issues in natural resources taxation, both of which have strong potential for tax cooperation linked to sustained development.

Participants at the panel will receive a book and DVD designed for immediate use by in-country legislators and regulators responsible for designing tax policy, by tax administrators and by professors of tax law and economics. Link to Publication: Revenue’s Role in the Quest for Inclusive Development, What Works and What Can Work Better?

Welcome Remarks and Book Launch: Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations & Mr. Yiping Zhou, Director, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – remarks delivered on behalf of Mr. Kemal Dervis, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme.

Co-Chairs: H.E. Ambassador Léo Mérorès, President, ECOSOC, United Nations & H.E. Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation and Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations

Moderator: Mr. Vito Tanzi, former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former State Undersecretary for Economy and Finance, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy

Presentations on Transfer Pricing:

• Mr. Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance, National Treasury, South Africa
• Mr. Amar Bhattacharya, Director, G-24 Secretariat
• Mr. Vimal Gandhi, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, India and Mr. Pramod Kumar, Member, ITAT

Presentations on Resource Taxation:

• Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria
• Mr. Jin Dongsheng, Deputy Director-General, The Taxation Research Institute of the State Tax Administration (SAT) of China

Discussion