FM Calls For Cooperation Of Nations Over Exchange of Information on Tax System
The finance minister further said that confidentiality and cybersecurity must be maintained with great care
New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that with the growing digitalisation of the economy and emergence of new financial products, countries globally will have to cooperate with timely exchange of information, ensuring fairness and public trust in the tax system. “Technological tools like artificial intelligence, along with judgement, should be used to ensure that tax information exchanged among jurisdictions leads to measurable outcomes,” she said at an event here.
The finance minister further said that confidentiality and cybersecurity must be maintained with great care. “There should be joint attention and cooperation to the new challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, emergence of new financial products, and evolving structures of beneficial ownership. These are not challenges that any one country can address alone, rather they demand coordination, trust and timely exchange of relevant information,” she said at the 18th Global Forum Plenary meeting.
The global forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes is a multilateral framework comprising 170 jurisdictions. It monitors and peer reviews the implementation of international standards on transparency and information exchange. “The role of the forum in reviewing implementation, developing standards and supporting countries remains critical,” she said, adding that transparency can be both effective and fair when it is guided by clear rules, mutual respect and shared objectives.
“As work progresses, our collective task is to deepen current standards where necessary and, to ensure that exchanged information translates into measurable outcomes. The focus must remain on fairness, sustainability and public trust in the integrity of tax systems. We may come from different jurisdictions and traditions. But we are united by the shared purpose to ensure that lawful economic activity is encouraged, that evasion is discouraged,” Sitharaman said.
Noting that voluntary compliance has strengthened in India over the last decade due to fairness and predictability in tax systems, the finance minister also said that India has been integrating exchanged information with broader analyses of compliance and risk.
“Technology and artificial intelligence offer opportunities to make sense of information in a timely and efficient way, but the key is judgement, responsibility and a respect for procedure. Innovation must always walk hand in hand with accountability and it is that balance which gives systems strength and credibility,” she said.
