TaxEducation in Latin America

Representatives from the tax education programmes of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay participated in an exchange visit to find out about the best Tax Education experiences in Brazil. The activity took place in Brasilia, at the facilities of the Escola de AdministraçãoFazendária (ESAF).

Alexandre Motta, Director General of the ESAF, and Borja Díaz Rivillas, from EUROsociAL / FIIAPP, opened the session. The latter gave a presentation entitled “Advances and challenges of tax education in Latin America”. Also present at the inauguration were Luis Enrique D’Andrea, representing the ENAP, the coordinating partner of EUROsociAL in Latin America, and representatives from the different institutions which run the Brazilian Tax Education Programme.

The work sessions focussed on the areas given priority by the different countries: 1) formal and non-formal education strategies; 2) tax education in tertiary education; 3) experiences in tax education and social control of civil society; and 4) tax education in the federal, state and municipal agents in Brazil.

The participants were able to watch different plays around the theme of tax education from different regions of Brazil, and the spectacle “Music, Poetry and Citizenship” by the University of Maringá (Paraná).

In addition to the sessions, there were specific visits to find out about the education experiences of the General Auditor of the Union, the Budgetary Secretariat, the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil.

Particularly interesting was the visit to Brasilia International Airport to find out about the initiative entitled “The Federal Revenue Service invites you to get to know our customs”. The aim of this initiative, aimed mainly at the adult population, is to show the importance of customs in the fight against smuggling, for citizen security, in the protection of heritage and in international trade. The participants were given a guided visit around the customs facilities, during which they were shown the importance of new technologies in the detection of illicit substances and undeclared goods, and a display of dogs trained to detect the presence of drugs and explosives. The Secretary of the Federal Revenue Service, Carlos Alberto Barreto, participated in this visit.

This exchange activity to Brazil took place within the framework of the EUROsociAL initiative “Strengthening tax education programmes in Latin America”. Its objective is to promote a stronger tax culture among the population of Latin America, to contribute to achieving active, participative and supportive citizens, aware of the social significance of taxes and their role in the monitoring of public spending. The initiative is coordinated by the FIIAPPand its operative partners are the Ministry of Public Finances of El Salvador and the ESAF.