OECD tax intermediaries study: on January 8, 2008, TEI filed the following comments with the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development on its tax intermediaries study.

• Position: Tax Executives Institute

Tax Executives Institute is pleased to comment on the "Study into the Role of Tax Intermediaries" prepared by the Tax Intermediaries Study Group in advance of its consideration by the Forum on Tax Administration at its upcoming meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. TEI commends the Forum for initiating a dialogue on the roles, responsibilities, and obligations of taxpayers, tax authorities, tax advisers, and other intermediaries in an increasingly complex and interdependent world. The Study marks a valuable step toward refining the relative roles of tax authorities, tax advisers, and taxpayers.

As the preeminent association of business tax professionals, TEI was encouraged by the Study team's collaborative approach throughout the project. The Institute's feedback was sought at many points during the process, and we were pleased that the scope (and ultimately the substance) of the project were modified in response to our concerns and those of other stakeholders. We strongly urge that meaningful stakeholder participation be a part of future efforts.

TEI believes that the Study's conclusions and recommendations represent a salutary set of aspirational goals and best practices that can be effectively used by individual countries as they develop their own initiatives.

In particular, we applaud the Study team's acknowledging that the five attributes identified by the report--(1) understanding based on commercial awareness; (2) impartiality; (3) proportionality; (4) openness...