The International Tax Conference, being organized by PHD Chamber has been kicked off with a clarion call to shun “blatant greed” that has precipitated the sub prime crisis in the US, which has led to global melt down, affecting millions of people across the world.

Initiating the discussion, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Senior Advocate and former Union Minister for Law and Justice, in his inaugural address said the seamless world that had come into existence on account of globalization had helped accelerating the cross-border trade and investment and at the same time brought in its wake a number of issues. Lacing some of the fallout of the rapid liberalization process, he said that parking funds in tax havens by the corporations may be a good from tax planning purpose, but that starves the Administration from resources for investment. That compels the government to tax more the common man. “Tax structure is getting more shocks and tax load is getting more tilted towards middle class,” he added.

Referring to the current financial melt down, Mr. Prasad observed that nobody can predict precisely how long the contagion would last. But it is instructive for the International Tax Conference to consider various steps that can be taken to make the tax structure more transparent and the dispensation that is required for good tax governance.

Mr. Prasad called for strengthening the tax regime to plug the loopholes for curbing money laundering, which is one of the channels helping terrorism in the country. Most of the cities in India that are growing and potentials are unlimited, are susceptible to terrorist attacks. Proper monitoring of the fund flows can help stem such atrocities.

Mentioning that the international tax structure should be sensitive to ecological issues, Mr. Prasad suggested that there should be a pollution tax. “Global warming is not a distant crisis, unless we take timely actions to ward of its severity,” he added.

The two-day International Tax Conference, attended by over 250 tax experts from India and abroad, is discussing a number of  topical issues like judicial controversies in International Taxation vis-a-vis Microsoft and Vodafone cases, regulatory aspects, OECD tax model, transfer pricing etc.

Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Ajay Vohra, Chairman, Direct Taxes Committee, PHD Chamber said that the Conference was topical for the tax executives to take follow up actions against the backdrop of financial contagion.