China, South Africa to Participate in Work of OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs

14/06/2004 - China and South Africa are to intensify their co-operation with the OECD by becoming Observers in its Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA), building on a dialogue with OECD countries on tax matters dating back to the early 1990s and covering key structural reforms in tax policy and administration. 

The CFA brings together senior tax officials from OECD countries and countries with Observer status. It provides a forum for exchanging views on tax policy and administration issues, including tax treaties, statistics, the taxation of multinational enterprises, combating tax avoidance and evasion, consumption taxes and new challenges facing tax administrators. Countries with Observer status participate fully in the work of relevant OECD committees but are not full members of the OECD.

Bill McCloskey, Chair of the CFA, said that he was pleased that China and South Africa were now joining Argentina and Russia as Observers in the Committee. “This will enable both countries to participate in the work of the CFA more closely in all its aspects and also provide CFA member countries with access to the views of, and developments in countries which have a leadership role in the regions,” he said.

Vice Minister Lou Jiwei of China’s Ministry of Finance said that “a closer relationship between China and OECD will be advantageous to both sides, especially in terms of the development of fiscal and international taxation policy and the improvement of tax administration practice.”  South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, noted that “observer status on the CFA and its relevant subsidiary bodies will assist South Africa in developing both our tax policy and administrative capacity…and assist South Africa with regard to its contribution to the NEPAD [New Partnership for African Development] Programme of Action”.  

Both China and South Africa will begin their participation by attending a meeting of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs in Paris on 29-30 June.

For more information, journalists are invited to contact Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (tel + 33 1 45 24 91 08).

For more information on the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.