On 13th-15th December 2022, IOTA opened the floor for its last Forum Meeting this year. The Forum on the Use of Data from the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) brought together a distinguished group of thought leaders, representatives from international partner organisations (OECD), the business community (KPMG UK, EY UK) along with more than 35 tax professionals (advisors, inspectors, managers, data scientists) from IOTA member tax administrations to discuss key issues helping to ensure the effective use of the CRS data and increase the effectiveness of automatic exchanges of information under CRS. The hybrid event was also welcomed by more than 140 tax officials from 31 IOTA member countries joining online to the three-day event.
The IOTA Forum on AEOI, established in 2017, aims to create a platform for experts of IOTA member tax administrations to work collaboratively towards developing effective ways to access and use the data under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), Common Reporting System (CRS) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The overall purpose of the Forum is to support the development of effective ways to access and use the CRS data, in particular, with regard to Process, Compliance of Financial Institutions, and Use of Data to enhance Taxpayer Compliance.
The three-day event specifically explored key topics like ensuring high-quality and appropriate use of CRS data Compliance of Financial Institutions (FIs) with CRS reporting obligations; as well as methods/procedures for the use of CRS data to identify non-compliance of FIs and non-compliance of domestic taxpayers.
On the first day of the Forum on AEOI, attendees were updated on latest developments of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes by Raynald Vial, OECD and followed online presentations on Business Community Experiences - Challenges arising from CRS implementation delivered by our guest speakers Jeanette Cook, KPMG UK along with David Wren, EY UK. The second half of the day made room for IOTA country presentations on Ensuring high-quality and appropriate use of CRS data and Compliance of Financial Institutions with CRS reporting obligations. The following member administrations shared their experiences on the topics:
- Bulgaria: The road to ensuring the high quality of the CRS data exchanged: Bulgaria’s perspective presented by Zhivko Elenkov;
- Switzerland: Follow up with respect to undocumented accounts presented by Ararat Michael;
- Ireland: DAC2-CRS Compliance work and issues encountered presented by Derek Egan;
- Finland: Compliance of FI with CRS reporting obligations Dinis Kyllonen.
After the countries’ presentations, in-person participants were split into small discussion groups in order to exchange their own views, ideas and experiences on certain pre-determined questions regarding FIs compliance.
The second day of the Forum on AEOI brought new knowledge and another group of insightful presentations on the stage. Forum participants got better acquainted with the topic that has started the day before about Compliance of Financial Institutions with CRS reporting obligations. Furthermore, attendees discovered new methods and procedures for the use of CRS data to identify non-compliance of FIs and non-compliance of domestic taxpayers.
IOTA country presentations particularly focused on how to facilitate the compliance of Financial Institutions (FIs) with CRS-related reporting obligations under applicable national laws, through the provision of information and guidance; how to develop or improve methods and tools for the use of CRS data to identify non-compliance by FIs. The second day of the Forum brought another batch of interesting presentations from various member countries:
- Spain: CRS strategy with Financial Institutions: Assistance and monitoring presented by Rafael Cabeza Chevron;
- United Kingdom: CRS Compliance in the UK presented by Michael Pocock;
- Greece: Auditing FIs on CRS Reporting Obligations presented by Petros Fasilis;
- Romania: Methods of identifying the non-compliance of Romanian financial institutions presented by Alina Petruța Schneider;
- Hungary: Utilization of AEOI data presented by Barbara Dorner.
As in the first day of the Forum, the in-person participants were split and actively involved in small discussion sessions to share their own ideas and experiences on the issue of taxpayers’ compliance.
The closing day of the Forum on AEOI broadened the attendees’ practical knowledge on methods/procedures for the use of CRS data to identify non-compliance of domestic taxpayers by delivering additional presentations on the aforementioned issue and proposing actions to be adopted within IOTA member countries. This topic was addressed by the following country presentations:
- Finland: Detecting non-compliant taxpayers - Finnish approach to foreign CRS data presented by Teemu Rama;
- France: French use of CRS data for compliance presented by Cecile Bader;
- Norway: Using Digital dialogue toward the taxpayers presented by Magnus N. Andresen and Halvor Haga.
All materials, presentations and recordings of the event (plenary sessions), will be made available soon for registered IOTA website users on the event’s webpage.
