Issues covered by the WTO’s committees and agreements

DEVELOPMENT: PROGRAMME AND PRESENTATIONS

Programme and presentations for the seminar on revenue implications of e-commerce

The seminar was organized on April 22, 2002 under the auspices of the WTO Committee on Trade and Development. The proceedings are intended to serve as an input into the Committee's consideration of the issue of electronic commerce as part of the overall WTO Work Programme. 


> Guide to
downloading files.

Programme

Chair: Ambassador Mary Whelan, Ireland
> Download “Oral Report by the Chairperson of the seminar”, Word format, 30KB

10:00-11:00 
First Session: Trends in e-commerce back to top

  • Statistics on the evolution of e-commerce

  • Recent developments and forecasts

 

Panelist:
- Mrs. Julie Meringer, Group Director, European Research and Managing Director UK, Forrester Research.
> Download “E-Commerce Next Wave: Productivity and Innovation”, powerpoint presentation, 883KB

11:00-12:00
Second Session: Revenue effects of e-commerce and the underlying information technology back to top

Overview

  • How the development of e-commerce affects and may affect government revenue (customs tariffs, consumption taxes, income taxes)
  • How information technologies provide opportunities for tax authorities

Panelist: 
Mr. Walter Hellerstein, Francis Shackelford Professor of Taxation - University of Georgia Law School, United States
> Download “Electronic Commerce and the Challenge for Tax Administration”, powerpoint presentation, 89KB
> Download “Electronic commerce and the challenge for tax administration”, Word format, 92KB

Development Dimension

  • Sources of government revenue in developing countries, dependence on tariffs and taxes
  • Current taxation practices in developing countries
  • Implications of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions for developing countries
  • Other revenue implications of e-commerce for developing countries: sales tax, profit tax, etc.
 

Panelist: 
Dr. Susanne Teltscher, Economic Affairs Officer, E-Commerce Branch, UNCTAD
> Download “Revenue Implications of E-Commerce: The Development Dimension”, powerpoint presentation, 842KB
 

12:00-13:00
Third Session: Fiscal implications of e-commerce: A WTO perspective back to top

  • GATT/GATS implications for customs duties (discrimination, progressive liberalization and classification)
  • GATT/GATS implications for internal taxation (non-discrimination, regulatory issues and classification)
  • Issues related to harmonization
  • Considerations relating to the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions

Panelist:
Mrs. Lee Tuthill, Counsellor, Trade in Services Division, WTO
> Download “WTO implications of classification issues”, powerpoint presentation, 291KB
 

15.00-16.30
Fourth Session: Government and Private Sector Experiences 
back to top

  • Government experiences
  • Private sector experiences

Panelists: 
- Mr. Arthur Kerrigan, Head of Sector, International Services, Electronic Commerce and Financial Services, Directorate-General for Taxation and the Customs Union, European Communities
- Mr. Suhaimi Nordin, Senior Manager, E-Commerce, Multimedia Development Corporation, Malaysia
> Download “Government and Private Sector Experiences”, powerpoint presentation, 2038KB
- Senator Philip Goddard, Special envoy for technology, trade and investment, Prime Minister's Office, Barbados
> Download “WTO Seminar on Revenue Implications of E-commerce”, Word format, 26KB
Mr. Morten Sven Johannessen, Corporate Project Leader for E-business, Statoil, Norway
> Download “e-Business in an international oil company”, powerpoint presentation, 2041KB
- Mr. James M. Kiiru, Department of External Trade, Ministry of Trade And Industry, Kenya
> Download “Revenue implications of e-commerce for development”, Word format, 50KB