News release

Minister Cauchon opens global tax administration conference

Ottawa, June 4, 2001 ... The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec today welcomed over 260 officials, from 106 countries, to Montreal for the first global Conference on Tax Administration in an Electronic World.

The conference, which is being hosted by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), is co-sponsored by five international organizations interested in tax administration: the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA); the Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations (CIAT); the Centre de rencontres et d'études des dirigeants des administrations fiscales (CRÉDAF); the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administration (IOTA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Delegates will discuss opportunities and challenges raised by electronic commerce. It is the first time that all these international groups have met in one place to discuss the effect of electronic commerce on the administration of taxes throughout the world.

"There has never been a global conference of tax administrators before on anything approaching this scale. It is this sort of continued collaboration that will ensure that all countries benefit from e-commerce and that the integrity of each country's tax base is protected," said Minister Cauchon.

In his speech which officially opened the 3-day conference, Mr. Cauchon encouraged the delegates to take a collaborative approach in responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by e-commerce.

"We must address the increasing complexity of economic activity: Where does it occur? How can we measure or track it? What are the implications of electronic commerce for different jurisdictions?" said Minister Cauchon. "We as tax administrators have just begun to capitalize on the opportunities presented by electronic commerce. We know that e-commerce provides a way to better serve our citizens. It allows us to reduce the administrative burden for our businesses and therefore improves their efficiency and competitiveness."

During the conference the CCRA will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Direction générale des impôts de France. The MOU will intensify the working relationship that already exist between the two agencies. It will focus on best practices for a range of issues that concern tax administrators, including user services, management of the tax base and tax collection, international comparative analyses, risk analysis and tax audit methods.

A copy of the Minister's Speech is available on the CCRA's Web site at: www.ccra.gc.ca.

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