Dear Friends,

It is my great pleasure to announce the agenda for the 5th International Conference on Taxpayer Rights, which will be held over three days, on May 26 to 28, 2021.  The theme of the conference is Quality Tax Audits and the Protection of Fundamental Rights.  You can access the agenda here.

Given the uncertainty with international (and even domestic) travel, we have decided to hold this conference entirely online.  We will miss seeing everyone, as the conversations and interactions that take place during the past in-person conferences have been invaluable.  However, we are committed to maintaining that quality of interaction in the online conference.

As you will see from the agenda, we have an impressive and diverse roster of panelists who will address the following issues, among others:

• Foundational audit principles and applicable taxpayer rights;
• Audit selection techniques;
• Case studies in the conduct of tax audits;
• Cross-border cooperative audits and taxpayer rights;
• Impact of audits on future compliance; and
• Criminal investigations and civil tax audits.

New for this year, we are holding a pre-conference Low Income Taxpayer Clinic workshop on 26 May 2021, which will address challenges in creating and operating clinics as well as the issues faced by low income, small business, and self-employed taxpayers in the pandemic economy.  Registration for this workshop is free, as we want to encourage the expansion of tax clinics throughout the world!  We plan to continue holding this workshop before each International Conference on Taxpayer Rights.

Registration for the 5th International Conference on Taxpayer Rights will open in mid-March, 2021.

And … we are still planning to hold the 6th International Conference on Taxpayer Rights in Pretoria, South Africa in October 2021.  At this conference, we will not only hold a pre-conference Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Workshop but also a post-conference breakfast round-table for taxpayer advocates and ombuds, and those interested in establishing such offices in their countries.  As of this date, our plans are to hold it both in-person and online.  You can keep abreast of our plans by visiting our ICTR webpage here.

So!  We are looking forward to “seeing” you at the online  Athens conference in May!

All the best,

Nina

Nina E. Olson
Executive Director