Press Release No. 12/200

Press Release: IMF, Tax Academy of Singapore, and IBFD Co-host Seminar on Challenges of Reforming Tax and Customs Administrations

June 1, 2012

The IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, the Tax Academy of Singapore, and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) co-hosted the first offering of a seminar on Challenges of Reforming Tax and Customs Administrations. It took place from May 28 – June 1, 2012 at the IMF – Singapore Regional Training Institute (STI) in Singapore.

This one-week seminar was conducted by senior revenue administration officials from the IMF, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, and IBFD in an interactive forum which drew on the participants’ own experiences in the design and implementation of the tax and customs administration reforms underway in many Asian countries.

The topics covered included: the criticality of efficient core revenue administration operations; achieving increased taxpayer voluntary compliance and more effective enforcement; reducing the costs of administration while at the same time increasing organizational efficacy; the human resource and management challenges inherent in major restructurings; and the importance of strategic planning for successful reforms.

The seminar was attended by Assistant Commissioners, Directors, and other senior officials who are closely involved with ongoing or planned reforms of revenue administration. The countries represented were Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Fiji, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

IMF training courses are held at IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C., regional IMF training centres, and other locations around the world. The IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute is a joint venture of the IMF and the Government of Singapore; the IMF receives substantial funding from the Government of Japan toward its share of the Institute’s costs, with important additional support from the Government of Australia.