At the 26th General Assembly of the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA) in Zurich, the commissioners of European tax administrations, together with representatives of other international organisations, academia and the business community, have debated on how they can redefine the relationship between taxpayers and tax administrations and positively stimulate tax behaviour. Particularly, during the meeting the representatives have also designated Italy, represented by the Italian Revenue Agency, to join the new IOTA Executive Council, the governing body of the Intra-European Organisation of Financial Administrations.
IOTA and its executive arm - IOTA comprises the tax administrations of 42 European countries. Switzerland held the presidency for 2020/21, represented by Marc Bugnon, Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA). The Executive Council, of which the Italian Revenue Agency will now also be part, is one of the most important statutory bodies of the organization and is led by the IOTA President himself. In short, it consists of nine members from different countries (represented by Heads of Tax Administrations) and is elected by the General Assembly for one-year term. With regard to the activities it conducts, the Executive Council brings decisions concerning operational issues of IOTA and supervises the activities carried out by the Secretariat. It has a crucial role in the preparation of the General Assembly as well, it reviews and submits reports and documents to the General Assembly.
The fiscal issues at stake during the meeting - The theme of the Assembly was the relationship between financial administrations and taxpayers, with particular reference to the simplification of services and the promotion of spontaneous compliance, with a view to mutual trust with citizens. In particular, the debate focused on the main factors that guide taxpayers' propensity to comply with their tax obligations, as well as on the need for Administrations to reconcile the action aimed at maximising the payment of the taxes due and on the other hand the need for simplification and fairness. In addition to Italy, Austria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and Lithuania were elected as members of the Executive Council. At the meeting, the IOTA Presidency was also designated for 2022-2023, with the election of Georgia, and for 2023-2024, with the election of Hungary.
Stefano Latini