High-quality development of B&R calls for more efforts in int'l tax cooperation, experts

Photo taken on September 7, 2021 shows the site of the second conference of the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum.

In the eight-plus years of Belt and Road construction, China has been constantly strengthening international taxation cooperation with related policies and regulations basically formed and being perfected, but more efforts are called to be taken to consolidate foundation for high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

International tax cooperation is a key part in international trade and investment. After the BRI was proposed, China has signed bilateral tax treaties with most participating countries, established the Belt and Road tax collection and management cooperation mechanism, and formulated the Belt and Road tax collection and management cooperation action plan. However, in the process of tax cooperation, there are few multilateral tax treaties. Tax treaties have not yet covered all related countries, some tax treaties are lagging behind, and the cross-border tax dispute resolution mechanism is yet to be optimized, which restricts the Belt and Road construction.

As the overall construction of the Belt and Road has entered the stage of high-quality development, inter-regional economic exchanges are increasing rapidly. Promoting economic balance and optimizing resource allocation in the Belt and Road construction has become notable functions of taxation. Under the tax cooperation concept of "extensive consultation, joint construction and sharing", clearer rules should be made to facilitate international tax cooperation.

Insiders believe that it is very important to establish an international tax cooperation system that supports the overall Belt and Road construction process, which is conducive to the coordination, stability and sustainability of tax order among countries.

In order to strengthen tax administration cooperation under the BRI, the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism (BRITACOM) was launched at the first conference of the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum held in April 2019 in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, with 34 council members and 22 observers. It is worth noting that by March 2021, the number of council members of BRITACOM had increased to 36, and besides, there were 30 observers. 

Experts believe that tax authorities of related countries should continue deepening the construction of the Belt and Road tax administration cooperation mechanism, further improve the cooperation network, share administration experience and tax practice, and promote the continuous improvement of tax governance efficiency of all parties.

The "Wuzhen Action Plan (2019-2021)" released by the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum is an extensive multilateral cooperation and coordination framework of tax collection, which is believed to set a model for the tax cooperation under the Belt and Road construction.

Experts point out that it is important to strengthen the collection and exchange of international tax information, deepen communication and cooperation with neighboring countries, update and improve the international tax cooperation mechanism and dispute resolution mechanism, track the cross-border tax risks faced by enterprises, and jointly promote modernization of the tax governance system and governance capacity in the Belt and Road construction. It is also necessary to maintain high frequency and high efficiency in international tax dialogue.

Experts also suggest accelerating the implementation of the tax cooperation plans formed by the B&R countries, and summarizing the achievements and bottlenecks encountered, so as to accelerate the landing of bilateral and multilateral cooperation plans under the cooperation mechanism, and deepen the consensus on strengthening the cooperation in tax collection and administration under the BRI.