The Training Institute, Ministry of Finance will hold the 2012 International Taxation Academy from the 11th to the 29th of this month to equip our tax officers with knowledge of international taxation and to enhance interactions on international taxation affairs. The opening ceremony will be hosted by Ms. Chih-Chen Cheng, Director General of the Training Institute, Ministry of Finance.

The curriculum for this year includes: 1. International Trends in Consumption Tax, 2. International Trends in Real Estate Tax (including Taxation of Real Estate Transactions), and 3. International Trends in the Taxation of Trusts.

Three world-renowned scholars in the field of taxation will lecture at the Academy and talk on their professional understanding of the related topics. They are Professor Per Juvkam-Wold, Senior Manager, Transfer Pricing at Ernst & Young, LLP. Dr. John Mark McWatters, Director of Graduate Programs at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University (SMU), with responsibility to oversee the school's LL.M. and S.J.D. programs and who also serves as an adjunct professor teaching courses in the taxation area, and Dr. Dennis Calfee, of the Levin College of Law, University of Florida who has been awarded the “MOF Finance Specialty Medal.”

Our institute has co-operated with the School of Law at SMU on the International Taxation Academy for 28 terms since 1984. A total of 825 tax officers in our country and 198 officers in the field of public finance from another 55 countries have attended the training program. There will be 47 domestic tax officers participating this year. In addition, with the assistance of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several high-ranking officers from other countries, including officers from the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Kiribati, Mongolia, Poland, Swaziland, the Marshall Islands and Turkey will also be participating in the Academy.

This program has been shown to be effective in introducing innovative knowledge on international taxation and participation in the courses has assisted our tax officers in managing international cases. Also, several foreign officers have been promoted to important positions in their own countries after attending the Academy. The Academy provides the officers in the MOF with a platform for interaction with tax officers and public financial officers from other countries.

In seeking tax equity and a sound tax system, we believe that this Academy can benefit our country greatly in the continuous reform of the tax system conducted by the MOF and also enable our country to keep pace with world-trends in order to enhance our competitiveness in the world.

(Jessie Hung 886-2-86632399 Ext. 219)