ITIC regularly monitors the G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The group met on 22-23 July 2016 in Chengdu, China. Please see the link to Bloomberg News for the full text of the communique that was issued on 24 July. A number of key fiscal issues that are of interest to ITIC’s sponsors – and relevant to our programs, working groups, and regional tax forums – were discussed. In particular:

Point 3, which emphasizes the need to “foster confidence and support growth.” The ministers also discussed “making tax policy and public expenditure more growth-friendly.”

Point 6, which discusses the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, including the importance of the multi-lateral development bank’s investment priorities to “catalyze private investment.” You might recall that “increasing private sector investment by MNCs” is one of the sustainable development goals.

Point 10, which addresses the G-20/OECD inclusive framework on BEPS. In particular, it points out the “timely, consistent, and widespread implementation of the G-20/OECD BEPS package and … specific challenges faced by developing countries.” This is among the reasons why ITIC includes sessions on BEPS at each of our regional tax forums. We believe it’s important to discuss BEPS in the context of each country’s investment climate as well as their domestic revenue mobilization objectives.

The G-20 acknowledged “the establishment of the new Platform for Collaboration on Taxation by the IMF, OECD, and UN, and their recommendations on mechanisms for effective technical assistance in support of tax reforms.” ITIC will continue to work with each of these institutions as we have in the past. This includes participation by a combination of these organizations at our regional tax forums.

Point 11, which recognizes the importance of the “role of tax policies in our broader agenda on strong, sustainable, and balanced growth…” We are pleased to see they concluded this point by asking “the OECD and IMF to continue working on the issue of pro-growth tax policies and tax certainty.”

Point 13, which reinforces ITIC’s work on combating the illicit trade of excisable goods as well as our cooperation with the OECD Taskforce on Combatting Illicit Trade by recognizing FATF’s progress in its new “Consolidated Strategy on Combating Terrorist Financing.”

While taxes continue to play a significant part of the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors agenda, we are pleased to see the repeated references for more growth friendly policies and tax certainty. We are hopeful that the actions identified by the G-20 will succeed in their quest to “foster confidence and support growth.”