Chair of the Committee: Mr. Armando Lara Yaffar (Mexico)
Mr. Yaffar is currently Deputy Director-General for International Treaties, Department of Revenue and Public Credit, Ministry of Finance, Mexico. His previous positions include Director for Treaty Negotiation and Special Projects, Department of Revenue and Public Credit, Ministry of Finance; and Director, Division of Legal International Procedure, Department of Revenue and Public Credit, Ministry of Finance. Mr. Yaffar has a Bachelor’s degree in Law, Escuela Libre de Derecho, Mexico; and a Finance degree, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico.
First Vice-Chair: Mr. Tizhong Liao (China)
Mr. Liao has been serving as Deputy Director General, International Taxation Department, State Administration of Taxation, People’s Republic of China, since 2006. His functions include supervising tax treaties, anti-tax avoidance, exchange of information and non-resident taxation. Prior to his current position, Mr. Liao served successively as Consultant, Deputy Director and Director of Tax Treaties, and Director of Exchange of Information and Non-Resident Taxation, State Administration of Taxation, which he joined in 1996. Mr. Liao holds a PhD, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and LLM, London University.
Second Vice-Chair: Ms. Anita Kapur (India)
Ms. Kapur is currently Joint Secretary (Foreign Tax and Tax Research), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, India. Her previous positions include Commissioner of Income Tax (Tax Deducted at Source), Income Tax Department; Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), Income Tax Department; and Commissioner of Income Tax (Income Tax Appellate Tribunal), Income Tax Department. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English History and Political Science, Punjab University, and a Master’s degree in English Literature, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
Third Vice-Chair: Mr. Henry John Louie (United States of America)
Mr. Louie is the Deputy to the International Tax Counsel, Treaty Affairs, Office of Tax Policy, United States Department of the Treasury. He joined the Treasury Department in 1996. His principal work areas encompass negotiating bilateral income tax treaties on behalf of the United States; coordinating the development of United States model tax treaty policies; and representing the United States at international bodies, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and its Working Party that examines issues related to the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital. Mr. Louie received his Master of Arts degree in Economics from Duke University, United States, in 1995, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University, United States, in 1990.
Mr. Adjei-Djan is a member of the Board of Directors of the newly created Ghana Revenue Authority. He is also a part-time senior lecturer in the law of taxation at the Ghana School of Law. Before retiring from the Internal Revenue Service of Ghana in February 2009, Mr. Adjei-Djan was Deputy Commissioner, Legal Services. During his career at the Internal Revenue Service, Ghana, Mr. Adjei-Djan worked at various positions, including Solicitor and Head of the Legal Department of the Service from 1986 to 1998, before being promoted as Deputy Commissioner. Mr. Adjei-Djan has written many articles on legal subjects, especially on public law and taxation. He was instrumental in several legislative changes in the tax laws of Ghana between 1986 and 2008, especially in the introduction of the current Internal Revenue Act 2000 (Act 592) and the Internal Revenue Regulations 2001 (L.I.1675) and their amendments up to 2008. Mr. Adjei-Djan holds a degree in Law from the Law Faculty of Ghana and was called to the Bar in 1976. Mr. Adjei-Djan was for several years lead negotiator in Ghana’s negotiating team for double taxation agreements with many countries.
Mr. Ahn is currently Director, Corporate Tax Division, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Republic of Korea. Previously he was successively Director, International Tax Division, and Director, Capital Gains and Inheritance Tax Division, Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Mr. Ahn holds a Master of Laws degree in Taxation, New York University, School of Law.
Mrs. Amjad is an officer of the Inland Revenue Service, Pakistan, having 29 years experience in taxation policy, management and implementation at different levels. Mrs. Amjad joined the Revenue Service of Pakistan in l981 after qualifying through the Central Superior Services Examinations. In 1990-1991 she completed her Master’s degree in Public Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, United States. She has worked in different key positions in the Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan (at headquarters and in field offices), which include Deputy Commissioner Income Tax/Assistant Commissioner Income Tax Companies; Secretary (Inspection and Audit); Chief, International Taxes, and Commissioner (Audit) Large Taxpayers Unit, Islamabad. Mrs. Amjad’s international experience includes assignment as Coordinator, Association of Tax Administration of Islamic Countries Secretariat (2006-2007) and Regional Director (Asia-Pacific), Commonwealth Association of Tax Administration (2006-2008).
Mr. Aoyama is Professor of Tax Law, Graduate School of Business, Tsukuba University, Japan. His previous positions at the National Tax Agency include Deputy Commissioner, International Affairs; Director, Office of International Operations; and Director, International Examination Division. Mr. Aoyama holds a Master of Law degree, University of Tokyo.
Mr. Arrindell is an international tax consultant and was, prior to that, an International Tax Partner with Ernst & Young. His previous positions include consultant to the Government of Barbados; Higher Executive Officer, United Kingdom Inland Revenue (International Division); Member, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Working Group on Fiscal Policy; and Member, Barbados Direct Tax Review Committee. Mr. Arrindell has a Diploma in English Law, London Metropolitan University (formerly London Guildhall University).
Mr. Bensouda is currently General Treasurer of the Moroccan Kingdom (since April 2010). His previous positions include Chief of the Office of the Minister of Finance (1991); Assistant Director in charge of Central Control and Matching, General Tax Department (1993); and Director General of Taxes, Ministry of Finance and Privatization, (February 1999 to April 2010). Mr. Bensouda holds a Doctorate degree in Public Law, University of Paris I, Panthéon Sorbonne, and a Doctorate degree in Public Law, Mohammed V University. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Bensouda was Chairman of the United Nations Experts Committee on International Cooperation on Tax Matters, and a member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association (IFA). He has been Honorary President of the Moroccan branch of the IFA since 2006, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Promotion of Social Works for Education and Training.
As negotiator of double tax treaties for Belgium,
Ms. Devillet has responsibility for developing tax treaty policy and negotiating and implementing Belgium’s tax treaties. With more than 20 years experience in this area, she has a long history of involvement in drafting and interpreting Belgian tax treaties, and in policy development and interpretation of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, as well as the United Nations Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries. Ms. Devillet has been Belgium’s lead delegate to Working Party No. 1 of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for many years and has recently been elected Vice-Chair. She has participated in different sub-groups of the Working Party on specific issues, such as the work on permanent establishments, taxation of services and profit attribution. Ms. Devillet holds a Licenciate in Law, Free University of Brussels, and a Special Licenciate in Economic Law, Free University of Brussels.
Mr. Diop is currently Director of Legislation and Litigation Studies, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Senegal. His previous positions include Inspector and Auditor, Senior Tax Inspection Team, Department of Tax Inspection and Investigation, and Chief of Inspection, Tax Department. Mr. Diop has a Master’s degree in Economics, Université de Dakar; postgraduate studies in taxation, École Nationale d’Administration et de Magistrature, Senegal; and postgraduate studies in accounting, École Nationale Supérieure Universitaire de Technologie, Senegal.
Mr. Monayer is currently Assistant to the Tax Commissioner, Egypt. His previous positions include Assistant to the Deputy Minister/Tax Commissioner; Assistant to the Deputy Minister for Tax Policy; Tax Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Egypt; and Senior Tax Manager, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu International, Egypt. Mr. Monayer has a Bachelor of Arts degree, Mansoura University, Egypt.
Mr. Giraudi is the Delegate for International Tax Affairs in the Swiss Federal Department of Finance. He joined the Federal Tax Administration in 2007, and is Head, International Division for International Affairs, Swiss Federal Tax Administration. His principal work areas encompass the negotiation of bilateral income tax treaties, mutual agreement procedure and advance pricing agreements, on behalf of the Swiss Confederation; coordinating the development of Swiss tax treaty policies; and representing Switzerland at international bodies, such as the Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Steering Group of the Global Forum Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. Mr. Giraudi received his Law degree at the University of St. Gallen in 2003, and graduated from the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School in 2001.
Mr. Hassan has been Director, Department of International Tax, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, since 2007. He joined the Inland Revenue Board in 1989. Prior to his current position, he successively served in the Assessment and Corporate Branch (1989-995); Department of International Tax (1995-2001); Compliance Department as an Assistant Director (2001-2002); and was promoted as Director of Research and International Studies, and Deputy Director of the Malaysian Tax Academy in 2006. Mr. Hassan is a member of the Malaysian tax treaty negotiation and mutual agreement procedures teams, and of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia.
Ms. Kana is currently Head, Department of International Taxation, Internal Revenue Service, Chile. Her previous positions include Head, Department of Free Trade of the Americas, Directorate of International Economic Relations, Ministry of External Relations; Foreign Investment Committee, Ministry of Economy; and Tax Department, Arthur Andersen & Co., London. Ms. Kana has a Bachelor of Law degree, University of Stockholm, Sweden, and a Master of Laws degree, London School of Economics, London.
Mr. Wolfgang Lasars is currently Director, International Tax Section, Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin, Germany. After several positions with the Ministry of Finance and local finance offices in Berlin, he joined the International Tax Section of the Federal Ministry of Finance in 1993. From 1996 to 2007, Mr. Lasars taught international tax law at several seminars for senior tax experts from developing countries, and was a visiting Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Law, Soochow University, Taipei. Mr. Lasars studied Law and Chinese at the Free University of Berlin, where he received his degree as Doctor of Law (1982). Mr. Lasars is also a German delegate to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Ms. Julia Martínez is currently Deputy Director-General, International Fiscal Affairs, Taxation Directorate-General, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Spain. She joined the Ministry as tax inspector in 1988, and successively worked as a tax auditor in the local offices of the Spanish Tax Administration in Barcelona, Valencia and Zaragoza until 2003. She was then posted to the Spanish Embassy in Berlin, Germany, as Financial Counsellor, until 2008. Ms. Martinez holds a degree in Law, University of Zaragoza.
Mr. Enrico Martino is currently Head, International Relations, Department of Finance, Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Italy, since 2005. His portfolio comprises bi-lateral and multi-lateral external relations, including double taxation conventions and other treaties relevant to taxation, and dealing with tax-related matters with international and regional organizations. Mr. Martino also manages the “International Tax Observatory” data base. Prior to joining the Tax Policy Department, as Head, Tax Treaty Negotiating Unit in 2004, Mr. Martino headed the International Taxation Unit of the Inland Revenue Agency, and was part of the Italian delegation in several tax treaties. He also worked as a senior manager, consultant and auditor with the law and consultancy firm Deloitte Touche Tomatsu, Italy. Mr. Martino received his degree in Economics (magna cum laude) from “La Sapienza” University, Rome. He is a qualified "Dottore Commercialista” (Italian equivalent of Certified Public Accountant) and “Revisore dei conti “ (Italian equivalent of Certified Auditor). He is a member of the Board of the Italian Branch of the International Fiscal Association.
Mr. Oliver is Deputy Commissioner, Policy, Inland Revenue, New Zealand. He worked initially for the Treasury in a variety of areas and then in the private sector as a tax adviser. He worked with a number of accounting firms before joining Inland Revenue. Mr. Oliver is a member of the International Fiscal Association; and is the representative of New Zealand on the Committee on Fiscal Affairs, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Mr. Oliver was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours. He has a Master’s degree in Political Studies (first-class honours) and LLB, University of Auckland.
Mrs. Omoigui Okauru is currently Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Chairman, Joint Tax Board, Nigeria. Her previous positions include Chief Responsibility Officer, ReStraL, Ltd., Nigeria; and Partner, Arthur Andersen & Co., Nigeria. Mrs. Omoigui has a first-class degree in Accounting, University of Lagos; and a Master of Science degree, Imperial College, University of London.
Ms. Slavcheva is Head, Tax Treaty Directorate, National Revenue Agency (former General Tax Directorate), Ministry of Finance, Republic of Bulgaria, a post she has occupied since 1993. She is responsible for the negotiations of double tax treaties. She is acting as the competent authority on the mutual agreement procedure and the exchange of information under tax treaties, as well as under European Union directives on direct taxes. Ms. Slavcheva has been working in the Ministry of Finance since 1975, and has held various positions, including Legal Adviser, Chief Legal Adviser, and Head of Law Division. Ms. Slavcheva has published articles in magazines and books on tax treaty issues in Bulgaria. She is co-author of the Bulgarian translation of the 2005 version of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital. Ms. Slavcheva has a Master’s degree in Law, Sofia University, Bulgaria, and an LLM Certificate in International Maritime Law.
Mr. Sollund is Director-General, Deputy Head of Tax Law Department, Ministry of Finance, Norway. His previous positions include Partner, Bugge, Arentz-Hansen Law Firm, Oslo; Director-General, and Head, Business and Energy Tax Section, Tax Law Department, Ministry of Finance; Partner, Arntzen & Underland, Law Firm, Oslo; Director General, Tax Law Section and Petroleum Department, Ministry of Finance; Deputy Judge, Lyngdal District Court; and Legal Counsellor, Social Security Department, Ministry of Social Affairs. Mr. Sollund holds a Law degree, University of Oslo. He is Chairman, International Fiscal Association, Norwegian Branch, and Editor, Norwegian Tax Journal “Skatterett”.
Mr. Valadão is currently Tax Auditor, Brazilian Federal Revenue Secretariat, and Professor of Law at Catholic University of Brasilia (Brazil). His areas of interest include international taxation, constitutional tax law, tax law in general, tax reform, regulatory taxation, law and economics, and law and development. Mr. Valadão holds several degrees, including Doctor of Juridical Science (Southern Methodist University, Dallas, United States, 2005), Master of Laws (University of Brasilia, 2009), Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law (Southern Methodist University, Dallas, United States, 2003), MBA in Finance Administration (Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets, 1996), and Diploma of Expert in Tax Administration (PUC-GO, Brazil, 1992).
Mr. van der Merwe has spent almost all his career in the South African Revenue Service. After many years working on law interpretation, he has been closely involved with the area of International Taxation for the last 18 years. He has taken an active role in negotiations of double taxation agreements, mutual agreement procedures, all interpretation issues and exchange of information. He has been the South African delegate to Working Party No. 1 of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development since 2004, and acted as Co-Chair of the OECD Technical Advisory Group on the Taxation of Business Profits, dealing with e-commerce. Mr. Merwe is also Chair of the Tax Agreements Working Group of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tax Subcommittee and acts as technical expert to the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Working Group on exchange of information. He is also heavily involved in training within the Revenue Service, at universities, SADC Member States and other countries, and for regional institutions such as SADC, ATAF and the OECD. Mr. Merwe holds the National Diploma in State Accounts and Finance.
