News from Asia and the Pacific

Asian Tax Officials Learn How to Strengthen Tax Administration Under New Partnership

Dec. 6, 2019, Selangor, Malaysia – Thanks to a new partnership between the IMF and the Malaysian Tax Academy, about 20 senior tax administration officials from 16 countries across Asia and the Pacific benefitted to learn about how to assess the strength of their countries’ tax administration systems with a diagnostic tool.

The four-day training workshop was co-organized by the academy and the Fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department and Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (OAP) for the first time.

Through lectures and hands-on activities, the 19 participants learned about the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT), which provides the international-standard methodology for assessing tax system performance across taxpayer registration data bases, risk management, and timely payment of taxes. The tool also can assist in assessing effective resolution of tax disputes, the efficiency of revenue management, and the accountability and transparency both of tax administrators and taxpayers. The participants drew on the knowledge of instructors from Australia, Japan and the IMF and took the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with each other as peers.

When opening the course, OAP Director Chikahisa Sumi said that the IMF stresses capacity building activities that support better economic outcomes and policies. “The TADAT, by helping to assess and improve tax administration systems, has a direct link to both since it helps drive more efficient domestic revenue mobilization and bolster funding to underpin public policies that can support more inclusive and sustainable growth,” he said.

The workshop also provided an excellent example of building new training partnerships. An official from Sri Lankan tax agency, Aruna Samantha Kulappuwa Wadu, summed up the participants’ views on the training at the closing lunch. “We all, and I personally very much, benefitted from this training and I look forward to carrying my new knowledge back to Sri Lanka to share with my colleagues,” he said.