Indian FM Inaugurates 1st BRICS Heads Of Revenue Meeting

New Delhi, Jan 19, IRNA – India’s Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram emphasised the need for greater cooperation among BRICS countries in the area of tax administration in a ceremony here to inaugurate the “First BRICS Heads of Revenue Meeting here on Thursday. The two day meeting, the first of its kind of BRICS countries(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), aims at enhancing the co-operation among tax administrations of BRICS countries. Chidambaram reiterated the commitment of the Government of India to a stable tax regime, moderate tax rates, non- adversarial tax administration and a fair mechanism for dispute resolution. He added that India has been modernizing its tax administration in a way that will minimize transaction costs and maximize taxpayer convenience, without compromising the deterrence factor. The finance minister stated that tax administrations were faced with new challenges that include providing quality taxpayer services to take care of taxpayer expectations, protecting and increasing domestic tax revenues, and allocation of taxing rights and sharing of taxable income from cross border dealings between countries. He further observed that during the last two or three decades, the global economy has been undergoing significant transformations, and BRICS countries have been at the centre of this economic change. He stated that it would be a good idea to hold deliberations and even try to come out with agreed stands on issues of mutual concerns so that BRICS countries can play a more proactive role in modifying and developing existing international standards on international taxation and transfer pricing in order to safeguard their tax revenue interests. He felt that this meeting can help in developing a roadmap for such coordination. During the two day meeting, the participants are likely to deliberate on issues of mutual concerns related to tax administration, including those pertaining to international taxation, transfer pricing, cross border tax evasion and avoidance, tax dispute resolution mechanisms. India presently holds the chairmanship of the BRICS group./end