This course will be delivered as part of the Supporting Capacity Development of Tax Administrations in South East Europe project primarily supported by the Dutch Ministry of Finance, Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Assistance Technique France (Adetef). The overall objective of the project is to contribute to strengthening of beneficiary institutions’ capacity in implementing the EU’s recommendations under which the revenue authorities can deliver tax compliance risk management.
What you will learn
Tax avoidance and evasion are global issues that affect us all. Taxpayers try to minimize taxes through legal or illegal means. At the same time, tax authorities try to improve compliance, detect tax evasion, and close unintended loopholes for legal tax avoidance.
After having provided an overview of the differences between the concepts of tax avoidance and tax evasion, the course will familiarize participants with different approaches and measures tax authorities can use to effectively combat and reduce the scope of tax evasion and avoidance activities. In particular, it will look into the use of preventive versus repressive measures. It will also discuss ways of improving the efficiency of the exchange of information between tax administrations in order to combat tax avoidance and tax evasion practices.
Possible ways to raise taxpayers’ confidence in the tax system by fostering transparency and improving tax service along with the behavioral aspects of why do taxpayers evade will also be explored.
How you will benefit
The course will promote the experience-sharing and the sharing of best practice among participants. In this context, a significant part of the course will be devoted to discussions that will draw on existing experience of the participating countries to examine the challenges involved in and possible approaches to successfully strengthen national tax systems in fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance practices.
By the end of the course, participants will have:
- Learned about different modes of tax evasion and avoidance
- Learned about different treatment instruments used to detect tax evasion and avoidance early where it arises
- Received insights into how countries can effectively exchange information
- Discussed possible ways of educating the public with the aim to raise taxpayers’ confidence in the tax system
- Learned about factors related to tax-evading behavior of taxpayers
Who should attend
The course has been designed for senior- to mid-level officials from tax administrations and ministries of finance dealing with tax evasion and avoidance practices. Participants will be expected to actively contribute and should be prepared to present experiences on tackling tax evasion and avoidance in their countries.
