Krister Andersson at the Global Tax Advisers Platform

On 3 October, Krister Andersson participated at the CFE’s (Confédération Fiscale Européenne) 60th anniversary conference in Turin, Italy. During this event the Global Tax Advisers Platform (GTAP)’s founding bodies issued the Torino-Busan Declaration. This document sets out four key short-term priorities to pursue its fundamental purpose:

  • Tax for Growth;
  • Sustainable Tax Policies;
  • Tax and Digitalisation;
  • Taxpayers’ Rights and Certainty in a Fast-Paced World.

The title of the conference was “Tax & The Future” and it examined issues that are of interest to all tax advisers in a borderless, increasingly globalising and automated society, driven by new technologies. To that end, four panels of expert speakers considered the evolution and future of the topics of global tax policy, corporate income tax and VAT, the global tax profession and business models and tax sustainability. Mr Andersson participated in a panel discussing The Future of Global Tax Policy. He stressed the need to base tax policy decisions on facts and figures rather than on media driven campaigns. He referred to the 2019 EESC study “The Role of Taxes on Investment to Increase Jobs in the EU – An Assessment of Recent Policy Developments in the Field of Corporate Taxes”. In the presentation, he emphasized that environmental tax issues and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) must be addressed in any future policy efforts. He referred to the upcoming EESC Opinion ECO/494 on taxes, private investments and SDGs, of which he is the rapporteur. Bert Zuijdendorp of DG TAXUD, EU Commission, gave the perspective from the Commission Services.

The conference was followed by the CFE General Assembly meeting in which Mr Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration welcomed CFE’s recent contributions to OECD’s public consultations and presented the upcoming OECD agenda on the taxation challenges of the digital economy. Finally, the CFE Tax Advisers Europe was honoured to receive the patronage of the European Parliament of its 60th Anniversary, confirming the close links between the objectives of CFE’s initiatives and the values of the European Union.