Countries that Make Up the Regional Platform for Tax Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean Issue Joint Statement in Support of Brazil’s G20 Presidency

• Economic development

A meeting of PTLAC's Council of Treasury, Economy and Finance Ministers took place at ECLAC's headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

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Authorities from the countries that make up the Regional Platform for Tax Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC) met today at the central headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, where the entity held a Meeting of its Council of Treasury, Economy and Finance Ministers.

There, the members of PTLAC agreed to issue a joint statement on the platform's priorities, and they backed Chile to take over the initiative's pro tempore presidency from Colombia, the country that held that position in the 2023-2024 period.

Chile's Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, expressed appreciation for the recognition implicit in holding the pro tempore presidency and said that this platform responds to the need to maintain an overall view of tax systems. "Over the years, the borders relating to tax matters have become more porous and today we see many economic phenomena that spread to third countries, and that must be addressed by the different tax systems. Today we have initiatives in this area at the level of the OECD and the United Nations, so this PTLAC platform will allow us as the Latin America region to have a more active voice in these debates at a global level and, of course, to also be able to incorporate the agreements that may be reached within our own tax administrations."

Minister Marcel recalled that PTLAC, during its first year in operation, held one in-person and two virtual meetings of the Technical Working Group, creating three working subgroups on progressivity, tax benefits and environmental taxation. "On this occasion the reports by these groups were presented, and the ideas expressed at this meeting will be taken into account to prepare the work plan for next year," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs - the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, which is the United Nations organization that serves as the Technical Secretariat of PTLAC - stressed the importance of this initiative, which already has eight member countries and four more that are interested in joining. "This is a platform to collaborate and compare technical notes on tax reform matters, both within countries and in relation to the global agendas on these issues."

"For ECLAC, it is an enormous pleasure to host this second meeting and to serve as this platform's Technical Secretariat," he added.

The following is the full text of the joint statement:

JOINT STATEMENT

REGIONAL PLATFORM FOR TAX COOPERATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

The Regional Platform for Tax Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC) seeks to build, in a participatory and consensual manner, a space for dialogue among the Ministers of Treasury, Economy and Finance with the aim of ensuring that international and regional tax policies tend towards being progressive, equitable, environmentally and socially sustainable, and conducive to growth and to the reduction of inequalities.

Tax systems enable the financing of public goods such as education, health and infrastructure, which are central to economic growth, the reduction of inequalities and social cohesion. These systems also facilitate the mobilization of the resources needed to confront the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Thus:

1. We support the proposals set forth by Brazil in its G20 presidency regarding the need to move towards a progressive international tax system that would complement the efforts of the region's countries to mobilize resources to expand fiscal space.

2. We call for exploring alternatives, through regional and international tax cooperation, to finance measures to confront the climate and biodiversity-loss crisis.

3. We request that the Pro Tempore Presidency, together with the Technical Secretariat, prepare an Annual Work Plan for PTLAC that takes into account the preceding points, among others, and continues making progress on the development of tools that would facilitate tax cooperation at a regional and international level.

Santiago, Chile, May 6, 2024