Trinidad and Tobago, CAF sign co-operation agreement

The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) will support the digitalisation process of the online tax payment system being implemented by the government.

In a press release on Tuesday, CAF said the agreement was formalised with the signing of the technical co-operation.

CAF said it is "intended to increase and improve the ease of payment of tax obligations for individuals and companies by supporting legal, regulatory and change management initiatives that are key to the digitisation of the online tax payment in the country."

The agreement was signed virtually at the end of the meeting of CAF's board of directors by Finance Minister Colm Imbert and CAF executive president Sergio Díaz-Granados.

The release said this technical co-operation will evaluate the functional needs of an online payment method for customs duties and other fees administered by the Customs and Special Taxes Division; support the standardisation of legal agreements between the TT authorities and the commercial banking system; and ensure a secure and resilient digital system to support the online tax payment system in the Internal Revenue Division, among other things.

In the last four years (2016-2020), CAF approved operations for TT for a total of US$1,151 million, which represents an average of US$288 million per year, accompanied by agreements on technical assistance such as the one signed on Tuesday and creating knowledge.