July 2026

05/29/2020 The Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) has published a series of webinars on ICT tools in tax administrations The Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) has organised a series of webinars based on their recent publication: “ICT as a Strategic Tool to Leapfrog the Efficiency of Tax Administrations“. Several NTO members have participated, incl. the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) and Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA), and shared the learned information with their respective tax administrations. The recordings of the following webinars are now available online: “Strategy deployment through project management and organizational change management” (Presentation, recorded webinar) “The application of ICT on the tax administration core processes” (Presentation, recorded webinar) “Why improve tax administrations and how ICT trends leverage the institutional development” (Presentation, recorded webinar) “Management of ICT in tax administrations to ensure business continuity” (Presentation, recorded webinar)

06/04/2020 The Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA) has published a new book on “Applying New Technologies and Digital Solutions in Tax Compliance”. The Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA) has published a new book on “Applying New Technologies and Digital Solutions in Tax Compliance”. The book contains articles from the presenters of the 3rd IOTA Annual International Conference, “The Tax Compliance Technology Showroom”, which was hosted by the Georgian Revenue Service on 16-17 October 2019 in Tbilisi. The 3rd IOTA International Conference reiterated and emphasised the importance of partnerships between tax authorities, software developers, businesses and academia when building a bridge between the technology world and a very focused tax environment. The IOTA book offers information about some of the innovative projects and potential solutions utilising cutting-edge technology that empowered tax administrations to facilitate, improve and encourage compliance with tax obligations. Click here to download the publication.

07/10/2020 On 6 July 2020, the heads and focal points of all nine NTO member organisations participated virtually in the 6th NTO Executive Council Meeting. On 6 July 2020, the heads and focal points of all nine member organisations of the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) – ATAF, ATAIC, CATA, CIAT, CREDAF, COTA, IOTA, PITAA, WATAF – as well as the International Tax Compact (ITC) and the Italian Guardia di Finanza participated in the 6th NTO Executive Council Meeting. Held online, the meeting was chaired by Marcio Verdi, Head of the NTO Council, and hosted and moderated by the International Tax Compact (ITC) Secretariat. NTO members notably discussed the planned study on NTO financial sustainability, virtual events aimed at supporting revenue administrations in face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a suggested work plan for a series of activities linked to the issue of tax & crime. This series of virtual events will culminate with the organisation of the 1st NTO Technical Conference which will be held in October 2021 in Rome, Italy, and hosted by the Guardia di Finanza. The representatives of NTO members will next meet on 18 August 2020 for the 2nd NTO General Assembly.

08/27/2020 On 18 August 2020, the heads and focal points of eight NTO member organisations, the NTO Secretariat and Guardia di Finanza participated in the NTO General Assembly, which took place virtually. On 18 August 2020, the heads and focal points of eight member organisations of the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) – ATAF, ATAIC, CATA, CIAT, COTA, IOTA, PITAA, WATAF – as well as the International Tax Compact (ITC) and the Italian Guardia di Finanza participated in the 2nd NTO General Assembly. Held online, the meeting was chaired by Marcio Verdi, Head of the NTO Council, and hosted by the ITC, which facilitates the NTO Secretariat. The NTO members reviewed the work plan of 2019/2020 and discussed the new work plan for 2020/2021. They approved the amended governance document describing membership policies, roles and responsibilities, governance structure and procedures, and guiding principles of cooperation. In addition, they voted on the new NTO Council (ATAF, CIAT, CATA, IOTA, PITAA) as well as the Head of Council (Marcio Verdi). Among other topics, the NTO members decided to hold a minimum of four NTO Council meetings a year and to create a subcommittee to work closely on the NTO Technical Conference taking place in October 2021. The representatives of NTO members will meet next on 24 November 2020 for the 8th NTO Council Meeting.

10/07/2020 FIRST WEBINAR: “ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS – THE IMPACT ON TAX ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES AND BEST PRACTICES” On the 14 October 2020, the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) will host the first webinar  on “Tax & Crime”. The webinar will focus on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), discussing the impact of IFFs on tax administration activities as well as recommendations on best practices pursued by countries.   During the 4th NTO Council Meeting held in Paris in January 2020, tax and crime was identified as the central topic for the 1st NTO Technical Conference that will take place in Rome in October 2021. While IFFs are known to have a negative effect on political and economic interests of countries, as they undermine the sustainability of public finances and cause wider threats to national security, revenue authorities face significant barriers in addressing this issue. In this context, collaboration between revenue administrations can be crucial – enabling maximised reporting and information sharing on suspected tax and other financial crimes. In order to broaden the discussions on IFFs, NTO members decided to organise a series of webinars, providing a space for sharing experiences on best practices among an international audience of tax administrations. The first webinar taking place on the 14 October 2020, from 13:30 – 15:00 (UTC) will deal with issues such as identifying and addressing new forms of IFFs, the impact of IFFs on tax administration activities, as well as strategies and preventive measures against the grey economy and financial crimes. The webinar will introduce the topic of tax and crime, followed by presentations from NTO member tax administrations, a panel discussion along as well as a Questions & Answers (Q&A) session. The webinar will be conducted in English with simultaneous translation to French. For further information on the event, click here. All tax officials affiliated to NTO member organisations are kindly invited to register and participate. Please contact secretariat@taxcompact.net for further information on the registration procedure.

10/23/2020 Counting on a large audience of representatives of revenue authorities from all over the world, the first of three webinars of the “Tax & Crime” series by the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) took place on 14 October 2020. NTO members, guest speakers from the Kenyan and Finnish revenue authorities and participants discussed the impact of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) on tax administration activities, strategies and preventive measures against tax evasion and financial crimes. “IFFs: Impact on tax administrations and best practices” was chosen as the topic for the first webinar, laying down the foundations for the 1st NTO Technical Conference on Tax & Crime in Rome in October 2021. This topic of global concern attracted more than 180 participants from over 80 different tax administrations worldwide to the high-level discussion. “The real fight against illicit activities lies in identifying the lacking information, rather than using the resources that already exist,” Marcio Ferreira Verdi, Head of NTO Council said in his opening remarks. “Selecting taxpayers for audit is not the fight against tax and crime – there is a need to identify the data that is hidden. International collaboration and exchange of information are also crucial in the process.”  Marcio Verdi also brought forward the NTO’s mission to serve as a global platform for the exchange of experiences, knowledge, and best practices on tax administration matters among regional and international organizations. By fostering a global dialogue and providing support and knowledge sharing opportunities to the members of partner tax organizations on efficient tools for fighting tax crimes, the NTO has an important role to play in the response to IFFs. The ground-setting notion of “liquid crime requiring a multidisciplinary approach and interagency dialogue at the highest level” was then introduced by Stefano Gesuelli, Guardia di Finanza Attaché in Panamá, head of the Italian Mission and Director for planning at Inter-American centre of Tax Administrations (CIAT). Stefano Gesuelli pointed out the increasing linkages between the global economy and crime, such as illicit trade of legal products or the use of established banking, trade and communications networks to move illicit goods. He highlighted the importance of inter-agencies cooperation, international cooperation and investigative methodologies to respond to this context. Dr. Tera Saidimu Leseeto, Commissioner for Intelligence and Strategic Operations (ISO) at the Kenyan Revenue Authority spoke about strategies to identify IFFs, the role of informers, data analytics and joint investigations to flag tax evasion. Dr. Saidimu also discussed some of the enablers of IFFs, their impact on tax authorities and presented a case study on a trader scheme. Kenyan response strategies such as mechanisms for global information exchange, domestic collaboration of law enforcement agencies and the implementation of a whistle-blower channel were perceived with big interest and appreciation from the audience. Tarja Valsi, Head of Compliance Control at the Finnish Tax Administration followed up presenting the “Finnish Strategy and Action Plan for Tackling the Grey Economy andEconomic Crime 2020-2023”. The new program includes new accounting obligations for companies, new means to intervene in intentional or grossly negligent underpayment, and additional resources for investigation and information sharing. Tarja Valsi concluded by providing a concrete example of the “Case Archipelago/Real Estate”, which illustrated the strategies adopted to identify and respond to unusual financing and money flows and conduct the tax audit in practice. The session ended with an insightful panel discussion with questions from the audience and closing remarks by Marcio Verdi, who invited everyone to continue participating in the preparatory discussions for the 1st NTO Technical Conference on Tax & Crime. The Secretariat of the NTO thanks the speakers and guests for their contribution, and particularly IOTA Secretariat for providing the technical support for the event. The next webinar is expected to take place in February 2021, focusing on inter-agency collaboration, combatting tax crimes and exchange of information.

10/28/2020 The Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations has published a new book: “ICT as a Strategic Tool to Leapfrog the Efficiency of Tax Administrations”. The NTO member Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) has just released a new e-book covering the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in tax administrations as a tool to foster efficiency. In the framework of internal cooperation supported by the NTO, CIAT has initiated a series of bilateral webinars with other NTO members to exchange on ICT in tax administrations. The webinars cover the application of ICTs in the collection, recoveries and auditing processes and the application of ICTs in the processes of taxpayer registration and tax returns. Furthermore, the webinars serve to disseminate the findings of the publication and to share the gathered knowledge of the publication with officials from the members of the participating tax organisations. The first exchange between CIAT and the Association of Tax Authorities of Islamic Countries (ATAIC) took place on 30.09.2020 and was deemed very successful by both parties. Among others, the book provides insights on the functions of tax administrations and taxpayers registry, the processing of tax returns, payments and refunds as well as the auditing of taxpayers and the provision of services. The publication comprises an overview of invoices and electronic documents and further introduces experiences such as Portugal’s approach to exemplify ITC systems governance by merging customs and tax administrations as well as Peru’s experiences with exemplifying the impacts of ICT on the strategies of tax administrations. Consecutively, the book analyses how to enable digital technologies and services as well as provides the roadmap to modernise tax information systems. Additionally, the book offers different ICT infrastructure alternatives and information on how to implement ICT projects in tax administrations. Finally, the book presents new disruptive digital technologies and services by highlighting the existent opportunities and challenges inherent to the current technological progress. The book also includes a chapter on Human Resources, emphasizing the importance of ICTs in Human Talent Management. Ultimately, the goal of the book is to provide guidance to tax administrations on how to implement information technology in its processes, thus, aiming to reduce transaction and administration costs through modernisation. Simultaneously, the publication seeks to increase the rates of voluntary compliance with tax obligations and enhance the capacity of tax administrations to combat tax evasion and harmful tax planning. The publication “ICT as a Strategic Tool to Leapfrog the Efficiency of Tax Administrations” is based on research funded partly by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To access the book in English or Spanish, please visit the CIAT website.

11/20/2020 Upon the request from the Association of Tax Authorities of Islamic Countries, ATAIC, the Secretariat of the NTO organised a peer-to-peer learning event for the secretariat staff of the ATAIC on Thursday, Nov. 12. COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted all of us, changing lives and routines of people and organisations on multiple levels. In this context, virtual meetings became a new reality, adjusting to which is no easy task. In this context it’s even more important for the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) to keep developing capacities of its members, helping them provide better services to their member tax administrations. Upon the request from the Association of Tax Authorities of Islamic Countries, ATAIC, the Secretariat of the NTO organised a peer-to-peer learning event for the secretariat staff of the ATAIC on Thursday, Nov. 12. Running administrative meetings and holding technical events digitally is still a big challenge for many organizations, let alone younger and smaller ones like ATAIC. The acutest need for them was finding a reliable and secure platform with simultaneous interpretation feature, that could also work for locations with slower Internet connection and specific software restrictions in some countries. IOTA (Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations) and CIAT (Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations) secretariats, the NTO members with rich experience in online event management, have kindly agreed to provide their input alongside the Secretariat of the NTO. The Secretariat of the NTO presented research and experiences on working with digital tools and platforms and outlined general lessons learned when organizing an online event, timing and interactivity being the hot topics. Presenting Microsoft Teams features the Secretariat of the NTO mentioned the option of live caption and subtitles in a chosen language during the presentations. Eugenijus Soldatkovas, Manager of IOTA Work Programme, gave a detailed presentation on the use Microsoft Teams, their pros and cons for different types of meetings and shared his personal experiences. David Augusto Borja Padilla, Project Manager at CIAT, presented their experience with the video conference software „Zoom“ and showed how to set up a Zoom meeting directly in the program. Raul Zambrano, Technical Assistance and Information Technology and Communication Director, answered technical questions from the participants and suggested conducting a survey among the potential event participants prior to choosing a platform: in this way the organiser can ensure that the online event takes place on a platform acceptable by all participants and, perhaps, the most convenient for them. The ATAIC team was very interested to discuss further practical details, which led to an active and involving discussion. Not only ATAIC, but other participants also noted the productivity and benefit of this peer-to-peer exchange. The NTO is committed to facilitate similar need-based events in the future to ensure that each member benefits from the knowledge available in the network and gets peer support when needed.

03/01/2018 The NTO held its first strategy planning workshop to draft a strategic plan for the organisation The Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) held its first Strategy Planning Workshop from the 10th to the 13th of February 2018 in New York City. The event was attended by the CEOs/Heads of Secretariats of ATAF, ATAIC, CATA, CIAT, CREDAF, PITAA and WATAF. The event was sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The outcome of the workshop was a draft Strategic Plan spelling out the mission and vision of the organisation, the strategic objectives, the relevant initiatives and the brand logo. The final version of the strategic plan can be found here.

05/19/2018 The Network of regional and international organisations of revenue administrations officially launched on the 17th of May 2018 The Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) was officially launched on 17 May 2018 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by six regional organisations of tax administrations. The NTO is a network of regional and international organisations of revenue administrations that aims to develop and promote effective tax systems as a means to contribute to the well-being of all people. Its main objective is to act as a global platform for exchange of experiences, knowledge and best practices on tax administration matters. It focuses on fostering the capacity development of its members, enhancing internal collaboration among its members and ensuring the representation of their interests in various international fora. Please find a factsheet about the NTO here.