Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators

About

The Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators is an associated organisation of the Commonwealth founded in 1978 with headquarters in London. Its purpose is to promote the improvement of tax administration in its 47 member countries, with emphasis on developing countries. To achieve its mission, CATA coordinates conferences, training programs, publications, and knowledge sharing. Besides a yearly technical conference, up to six training programmes for middle level and/or senior managers are offered each year.

CATA has the following member countries:

Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Canada, Cameroon, Cyprus, Eswatini, Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St. Kitt & Nevis, St. Lucia, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia.

The Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) endorses the commitments of the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) and has joined the ATI as a supporting organisation.

Objectives

• Improve effectiveness and efficiency of tax administrations

Activities

• Research
• Conferences
• Publications
• Seminars and workshops

Organisational Structure

CATA Secretariat

Members

• Relies on the Commonwealth Secretariat

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day management

General Meetings (annually)

Members

• Senior tax officials
• Representatives of aid agencies
• Other interested international organisations and observers from non-Commonwealth governments

Responsibilities

• Hosted by a different member government each year
• Debates policy and technical issues of current concern to member tax administrations

Management Committee

Members

• Chairman, Vice-Chairman and 12 members elected by the General Meeting

Responsibilities

• Governing CATA
• Management of the operations of the association
• Meeting every three years

Resources

• Annual membership subscriptions comprising a basic contribution and an additional levy, both of which may from time to time be determined by a General Meeting
• Voluntary contributions from member countries
• Grants, contributions etc. from development partners/organisations upon the approval of the Management Committee
• Member countries support the association by providing resource persons for events, hosting said events, and providing staff secondments to the secretariat