KATHMANDU, May 8: Tax administrators and experts from 16 countries have gathered in Nepal for the regional technical meeting of the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI), an international organization which aims at enhancing internal revenue implementation.

More than 60 people representing tax administrators, experts and development partners from 16 ATI member countries have participated in the ongoing meeting at Yak & Yeti Hotel located in Durbarmarg, Kathmandu.

The program is organized by the Inland Revenue Department in collaboration with the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability. The main objective of the program is to collaborate to improve the fairness, transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness of the tax system. Last year, the regional workshop held in Manila, the Philippines  decided to hold the ATI workshop in Kathmandu.

In his inaugural address, Secretary of the Ministry of Finance (Revenue) Ram Prasad Ghimire thanked the department for holding the meeting in Nepal and providing the role of co-organizer of the program. Ghimire expressed his belief that the workshop would be fruitful in facing the financial challenges faced by the member countries.

Alistair Lobo, Tax & Economic Growth Lead at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, spoke on behalf of the Addis Tax Board of Directors and addressed the opening session of the workshop. He talked about the purpose and program of the workshop. He emphasized that the member states should adopt a tax system that helps them achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). 

According to the manifesto of the ATI, work should be done to increase the transparency of tax expenditure, facilitate cost-benefit assessment, and reduce the tax burden on taxpayers to win their trust. Likewise, Ayshanie Medagangoda Labé, Resident Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for Nepal expressed her belief that the workshop can play an effective role in mobilizing the necessary finance to achieve the SDGs.

The ATI was established by the Conference on Financing for Development held in July 2015 in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with the objective of fair and effective revenue mobilization, policy reforms in the tax system and achieving sustainable development goals through partnerships, sharing experience, and coordinating between development partners. 

Participants will receive training by experts on the technical aspects of tax estimation, reporting, and assessment as well as on the use of technology in tax administration and areas of collaboration in the future. Representatives of the Federal Parliament Secretariat, Ministry of Finance, Inland Revenue Department are participating in the workshop. As institutional partners, representatives of the UNDP and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have also participated in the workshop.

Shiva Lal Tiwari, director general of the Inland Revenue Department, said that the workshop will be effective in bringing Nepal's tax administration to the international level and informing the member countries about the experience gained by Nepal in the field of tax administration.

The ATI includes Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in South Asia as well as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mongolia, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Gambia, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

The ATI has received financial and technical assistance from various renowned organizations including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Global Financial Integrity (GFI), Global Forum-Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), International Budget Partnership (IBP), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF).

 
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