PAHM Emphasizes The Need For Technological Advancements For Tax Administrations In The Pacific

Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea: For Pacific Island Countries (PICs) to reform and enhance their tax systems, it is imperative to incorporate innovative approaches and collaborate with local, regional and international partners.

This was the sentiment shared by the outgoing Chair of the Pacific Island Tax Administrators Association (PITAA) Executive Committee and proxy to the Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Revenue and Customs Services, Ms. Kelerayani Dawai at the opening of the 20th PITAA Annual Heads Meeting in Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea. The official opening was held on 25th September 2023.

“The Pacific region, with its unique characteristics, will play an increasingly significant role on the global stage, our responsibilities are substantial, but so too are our abilities,” Ms. Dawai said.

“Combining this with improved cooperation among tax authorities, policymakers, development partners, businesses, and others will enable the pooling of expertise, resources, and perspectives leading to the development of innovative strategies that promote sustainable taxation practices, thus contributing to social and economic goals nationally and regionally.

“This provides a platform for exchanging ideas, sharing best practices, and developing strategies that will contribute to a sustainable future for the Pacific.”

Delivering the keynote address, the acting Prime Minister of PNG, Honorable William Duma called on tax administrators to embrace strategies that collect taxes fairly while nurturing businesses that generate revenue.

“In the realm of fiscal sustainability, our nations grapple with the challenge of maintaining financial stability while striving for development,” Hon. Duma said.

“The stability and growth potential of tax revenue sources must be explored, as overreliance on volatile sources can destabilize our fiscal standing.

“To uplift the well-being of our people, we must efficiently extract a significant portion of our economic activity through taxation, an endeavor that necessitates improvement in tax administration.”

The Acting Prime Minister also highlighted the need of tax systems to adapt to the rapid technological advancements by embracing it to accomplish efficiency and precision.

A total of 44 delegates are attending the annual meeting from 13 PITAA member countries and 11 partner organizations. The meeting concludes on 27 September 2023.

Information about the 20th PITAA Annual Heads Meeting

The theme for this year’s PAHM is: “Unleashing Innovation and Collaboration for a Sustainable Future,” with four (4) subthemes namely:

• Tax Regulatory Reforms for a Sustainable Future
• Leveraging Technology and Data for Efficient Tax Administration
• Combatting Illicit Financial Flows and Mobilizing Revenue through Collaboration
• Developing a Sustainable Tax Administration

The conference theme perfectly aligns with PITAA’s mission to encourage taxation institutions to design and adopt strategies to modernize and enhance their effectiveness and efficiency. There is a need to recognize the critical role of taxation in driving sustainable development in the Pacific. It highlights the need for innovative approaches and collaborative efforts to reform and enhance tax systems where possible and needed. By driving innovation, tax administration bodies can explore new methods and technologies to streamline tax administration, improve compliance, increase revenue, and adopt good practices. Moreover, by fostering collaboration among tax authorities, policymakers, development partners, businesses, and others we can enable pooling of expertise, resources, and perspectives to develop innovative strategies that promote sustainable taxation practices, thus contributing to social and economic goals nationally and regionally. This conference provides a platform for exchanging ideas, sharing best practices, and developing strategies that will contribute to a sustainable future for the Pacific.

PITAA Members in attendance:

1. Cook Islands
2. Federated States of Micronesia
3. Fiji
4. Kiribati
5. Nauru
6. Niue
7. Palau
8. Papua New Guinea
9. Solomon Islands
10. Timor Leste
11. Tonga
12. Tuvalu
13. Vanuatu

Partner Organizations in attendance:

1. Asian Development Bank
2. Australian Taxation Office
3. Bearing Point Caribbean
4. Commonwealth Association of Tax Administration
5. Data Tech International
6. Data Torque
7. Governful LLC
8. International Monetary Fund
9. Oceania Customs Organization
10. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
11. Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center

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