In order to face the challenges posed by the digitalization of the economy to the tax administrations at the global level, the international community has displayed efforts for understanding the operation of new businesses and designing mechanisms that may ensure compliance with the tax obligations in those digital operations. This is so, especially in relation to the rendering of digital services, intangible goods, the exchange platforms of the collaborative economy and the imports of low value goods. On this occasion, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) and the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) have coordinated efforts to develop a tools kit that may allow the tax administrations -especially the less developed ones-  to design a system that may facilitate VAT management in the digital economy and its subsequent collection. In this same sense, CIAT, with the financial support from NORAD, as well as the technical support of tax administrations, will develop a software -of free access to the tax administrations, for  the effective implementation of the recommendations of the aforementioned tools kit.

In order to advance in the execution of the aforementioned initiative, the first meeting of the steering group was held at the IDB offices in Washington on December 3, 2019. Present in this meeting were the CIAT Executive Secretary and Directors, as well as representatives from the IDB, World Bank and OECD. Thereafter, on December 4 and 5, a high level workshop was  held, for presenting and discussing the fundamental normative and administrative aspects to be considered when implementing the systems for collecting VAT originating from digital business transactions, as well as the main experiences of Latin American and Caribbean countries already using them. Thirteen Latin American and Caribbean countries participated in this activity, as well as representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), academicians, representatives of BIAC -Business at OECD- and the sponsoring organizations.

The CIAT Executive Secretariat feels confident that this initiative will be of great added value for the tax administrations throughout the world, especially those of the developing countries.

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