It was 45 years ago this May that CIAT was born. It began with a vision to create an organization that would serve as a standing forum to address tax administration issues of American nations. Then United States IRS Commissioner Sheldon Cohen and Tax Administration Advisory Services Director Harold Moss took the lead. After several preliminary meetings in Washington attended by senior tax officials of the Americas, in May 1967, Panama hosted the first CIAT General Assembly. At that Assembly representatives from 17 American nations approved the bylaws that created the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrators (CIAT). (In 1997 the Center’s name was changed to the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations.)

Over these years the brainchild of a few individuals has grown up to be more than what they envisioned, and has inspired the creation of other regional tax organizations. While it’s still echoes the will of those founding fathers, “provide a forum for tax administrations,” it has gone beyond that mandate to better serve its member countries.

From those original 17 American nations, CIAT now counts on a membership of 40 countries spanning four continents. It continues to provide a tax forum for countries of the Americas but has evolved into a more dynamic organization. Until 1977, CIAT activities were mainly focused on the organization of international meetings (annual General Assemblies, Technical Conferences and seminars), the publication of newsletters and the creation and maintenance of a library specialized in tax matters. That same year, a Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed with the Federal Republic of Germany, whereby said country appointed a permanent mission to CIAT, which was of great benefit to the organization and its member countries. The Agreement was in place until 1997 and facilitated CIAT’s entering into the field of technical assistance.

In 1982 and 1983, Technical Cooperation Agreements were signed with France and Spain, respectively, as a result of which permanent missions of said countries were appointed to CIAT Headquarters in Panama. These agreements allowed CIAT to further strengthen activities for the benefit of its member countries.

Technical assistance to member countries had a significant boost in 1983 when CIAT, through Inter-American Development Bank funding, initiated a Regional Technical Cooperation Project on Taxpayer Registration and Current Account for Central America and the Caribbean. The Center then started acting as a specialized agency rendering technical assistance services for the tax administrations of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since then, other major events occurred that changed the makeup of the organization for the better. The status of associate membership was created for non-American countries; these were then allowed to become full members after a five-year period as associate members.

Beyond the Americas and Europe, South Africa, Kenya and India joined the Center. Recently, Kenya became a full member.

After 45 General Assemblies, from the first in Panama to the most recent in Ecuador, CIAT continues to be a sound investment of time, dedication and resources offered by the creators of its bylaws. But with the 45th birthday that we celebrate this May, it is not a time to just take stock of how far we’ve come and glow in our success, but also to look at our future and envision where we want to be 45 years from today.

We continue to be a progressive organization. We look at where the world is going in the field of tax administration and try to be one step ahead in order to provide our members information on leading edge technology, systems and procedures. This information ranges from human resources practices to electronic commerce. We continue to adhere to the fact that there are major building blocks in tax administration and without these basic elements growth and improvements in efficiency and effectiveness will be limited. We also keep our eye on where is the taxpayer driving the way we do business. Electronic commerce is here to stay. It has and will impact the tax administrations of all member countries. As a result, we have become active in assisting member countries in the use of electronic invoicing. In keeping with our tradition of a forum, those who are more advanced in this field assist those who are moving ahead in this area. Those who have to resources provide assistance for those who lack them. Those who have a need for information seek it from those who have greater knowledge on the subject. Those who need to see how things are done are invited by those who can show them how they carry out business.

While our goal was not initially to seek international recognition, the world became a smaller place after 1967. Today, organizations like CIAT cannot operate in a contained geographic area. Alliances need to be established with the rest of the world and in particular with international organizations who have a fiscal and taxation agenda. To this end we continue to look for opportunities of collaboration with organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, OECD, UN and others. All these efforts make our organization stronger and provide better services to our members.

With our membership’s awareness and concurrence we delve into areas that are of great importance to all our constituent body and international organizations. One particular initiative is the work being done with the G20 mandate on capacity building. From the beginning we were invited to be an active participant in the development of guidelines on several taxation issues to be presented at the G20 meeting this coming November.

We have seen the fruits of our labors in collaborating with the above-mentioned international organizations. We have developed and pursued common goals; supported each other in areas of individual strengths; avoided duplication and ambiguity; and, maximized resources.

So, with great pleasure let’s wish ourselves a very, “Happy birthday!” and look forward to greater things to come.