ATI/ITC Tax and Development Conference 2019: Conference Report

The ATI/ITC Tax and Development Conference 2019 brought together more than 150 stakeholders cooperating with the International Tax Compact (ITC) and working in the area of domestic revenue mobilisation (DRM), most notably in the context of the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI). The conference provided a neutral setting for broad-based discussions on topics related to tax and development, while setting the focus on the needs and priorities of partner countries. In particular, participants had the opportunity to learn about issues faced by partner countries, development partners and relevant organisations, to benefit from the sharing of experiences, and to identify opportunities for collaboration and synergies in this field.

Participants of the ATI/ITC Tax and Development Conference 2019 included representatives from 34 different countries. These included 29 representatives from 16 ATI partner countries, and 47 representatives from 14 ATI development partners and 25 representatives from 10 ATI supporting organisations. Further, six regional and international tax networks were represented at the conference, five of which are members of the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO), as well as 13 different think tanks and academic organisations and 12 civil society organisations. The United Nations (UN), World Bank Group (WBG) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as the Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT), Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) and the International Budget Partnership (IBP), were also represented.

The ATI/ITC Tax and Development Conference 2019 provided a platform allowing diverse voices to be heard and new synergies to be built between partner countries and development partners. It allowed to reflect on the progress made in enhancing domestic revenue mobilisation in partner countries and fostering coherent development and tax policies. With 2020 approaching, the conference also aimed to explore how to develop the Addis Tax Initiative further to best accommodate the changing needs and priorities of its stakeholders in the future.

The conference was jointly organised by the Addis Tax Initiative and the International Tax Compact, with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), European Union, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BZ) and Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic.