The Minister of Finance of El Salvador, Mr. Carlos Cáceres, inaugurated the 1st Regional Meeting for Strengthening the Capacities of the Central American Tax Administrations – Sectorial Examination on October 5, 2010, in San Salvador, El Salvador.
The inaugural statement by the Minister was preceded by the words of Messrs. Hans Fuch (GTZ), Socorro Velázquez, (CIAT) and Oscar Vázquez, (CAPTAC-DR/FMI), who referred to aspects of the working methodology and objectives of the meeting and highlighted the importance of mutual collaboration for providing coordinated assistance to the tax administrations of the Latin American countries.
Also seated at the head table were  Mr. Lee Niederman, (Office of Tax Assistance of the U.S. Treasury – OTA) and Gonzalo Arias (CIAT), who made known the results of a survey sent to the Central American countries which determined the basic demands and needs of the Central American tax administrations on the subject.
The General Director of Internal Taxes of the Ministry of Finance of El Salvador, Carmen Elena Pineda and distinguished authorities from the areas of examination of the tax administrations of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama were also present.
The panel of speakers was formed by experts from CAPTAC-DR and OTA, and the tax administrations of Chile, Ecuador, France, Mexico and Peru.
The purpose of this Meeting which continued until October 7, was to identify problems in the area of examination faced by the Central American tax administrations, which would be considered at future activities within the framework of ITC, and the technical support of GTZ, OTA, CAPTAC-DR and CIAT.

Official Photo
San Salvador, El Salvador, octubre 2010