01 of 2019: 16th PITAA Annual Heads Meeting

01 of 2019
JOINT PRESS RELEASE

16th Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA) Annual Heads Meeting

International Convention Center
Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands

16th September 2019

The Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA) held its 16th Annual Heads Meeting at the International Convention Center in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands from 16th – 18th September 2019.

Aimed at Heads of Tax Administrations from across the region, the meeting hosted fourteen of its sixteen members together with regional and international observers from the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center (PFTAC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group (WBG), Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), Oceania Customs Organization (OCO), the Delegation of the European Union in the Pacific (EU), Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARB), New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (NZIRD), HM Revenue and Customs UK, Sapere Research Group, DataTorque and Bearing Point.

The meeting was formally opened by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Minister for Finance, Honorable Brenson S. Wase.

In his opening address, Mr. Wase said that ,“Hosting this annual conference here in Majuro indeed provides a good opportunity for all delegates from various regions in the Pacific to come together and network and share ideas to improve the administration of limited domestic tax bases in ways that will enable the private sector to lead the development of our economies.”

“I want to take the opportunity then to express our gratitude to representatives of our development partners who are here to provide technical assistance to ensure we are able to meet international tax administration and compliance standards. In the same vein, I want to thank the PITAA Secretariat for your continuing collaboration and support to the RMI as a member of this important association.” Mr. Wase said.

The Meeting was chaired by the Assistant Secretary, Ms. Ann Marie Muller, from the Republic of the Marshall Islands Division of Customs, Revenue & Taxation.

“Ensuring the region keeps abreast with regional trends and issues, the PITAA allows tax administrators this unique platform to collaborate, discuss and share best practices,” said Ms. Muller.

The meeting theme was “Building Resilience and Sustainability in a Growing Digitalized Era” with presentations and speakers focused on the meeting theme.

The 2020 PITAA Annual Heads Meeting is scheduled at Port Vila, Vanuatu and 2021 in Nuku’alofa, the Kingdom of Tonga.

For additional information, please contact Mr. Petero Maivucevuce on email pmaivucevuce@pitaa.org or telephone (679) 3316 114.

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