Brian Dawe Email and Phone Number

IMF FAD Tax Administration Short Term Expert Nov. 2012 - PresentAfter eleven (11) years as an IMF FAD long term resident adviser, I returned to Canada for family reasons and commenced delivering IMF short term technical assistance. As at October 2018, I completed sixty-three (63) STX missions between Nov. 2012 and Oct. 2018, in the Caribbean (Antigua; Dominica; Grenada; Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; and Saint Vincent), in Africa (Sierra Leone; Zambia; Nigeria; Gambia; Ghana; Cape Verde; Zimbabwe; and Madagascar), in South East Asia (Sri Lanka and Laos). The STX missions have focused on many areas including: (i) reforming tax administration organizational structure; (ii) establishing and implementing corporate strategic business plans, operational programs, and reform plans; (iii) establishing strategic compliance risk strategic plans, registers and taxpayer service strategic plans; (iv) analysis and segmentation of the taxpayer population; (v) strengthening control over the largest taxpayers by establishing an LTUs; (vi) reviewing VAT performance and administration regimes based on compliance, enforcement, and revenue yield; (vii) identifying and enhancing audit policy and administration processes, techniques and methods; (viii) strengthening taxpayer services, compliance, collection enforcement and governance; (ix) drafting and preparing audit resource procedures manual for the Caribbean; (x) drafting of modern tax administration job descriptions; (xi) Corporate or Enterprise Risk Management; (xii) analytics and data risk; (xiii) assisting the authorities in adopting and implementing new tax legislation; and (xiv) completion of TADAT assessments.

FAD / CARTAC resident tax and customs adviser, I assisted and provided administration recommendations to the Minister of Finance; Revenue administrations; and the Revenue Administration Reform Project team and other authorities in such areas as: (project management and oversight; head quarters’ function and responsibilities; adopting and implementing new tax and customs legislation; reforming the tax and customs administration organizational structure; strengthening revenue control over the largest taxpayers and importers; enhancing audit policy and methods; strengthening VAT compliance and risk management; collection enforcement and governance; computerization and the establishment of an effective management information system). In addition to direct technical assistance, I also backstop eleven (11) IMF/CARTAC short term experts that deliver specialized assistance in tax and customs.

As the resident tax adviser, I assisted in developing and enhancing the institutional and human capacities of countries in the Caribbean region to achieve their macroeconomic, fiscal and monetary policy objectives. I work directly with Ministries of Finance and Revenue Departments (Tax and Customs) from the member countries, as well as with international fiscal advisers and consultants within the International Monetary Fund and other agencies such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations, and many aid organizations. In particular, we are assisting ten countries in the implementation of new VAT systems and related reforms in the areas of organizational structures; enhanced operational programs and modernization of their procedures, risk management and administration regimes.

As an HQBC, I advised on revenue administration operations in a wide range of countries (Cambodia, Lao, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China, Libya, and Haiti), working on the design and implementation of major tax administration reforms, improving the management and organization of tax administrations in member countries, and advising on the modernization of revenue administration procedures. I have lead missions to Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao and Haiti.

As the IMF FAD resident long term tax adviser under the Technical Cooperation Action Plan (TCAP), I assisted the Ministry of Finance, Inland Revenue Department and authorities in adopting and implementing new tax legislation; reforming the tax administration organizational structure; strengthening control over the largest taxpayers by establishing an LTU; enhancing audit policy and methods; strengthening VAT compliance; collection enforcement and governance; planning for computerization; and the establishment of an effective management information system.

Responsible for all aspects of the largest tax office in Canada including federal income tax, goods and services tax, excise tax, excise duty, provincial income tax, employment insurance, Canada pension acts and relationships with 1,747 staff, 3 unions, 2.5 million individual and 96,000 corporate clients and many national and international industry sector representatives. Specific management challenge was to bring about a material change in the management style to one of balanced staff involvement and total business thinking in a learning environment linked to a program focus with reasonable risk taking and accountability.

Responsible for all aspects of a large tax office in Canada including federal income tax, goods and services tax, excise tax, excise duty, provincial income tax, employment insurance, Canada pension acts and relationships with 724 staff, 3 unions, 800,000 individual and 38,000 corporate clients including steel and transportation industry sector representatives. Management challenge was to conduct a full operational review, create new partnerships with external and internal clients, three unions and establish a learning environment that would provide all management and staff with a new performance communication system and an effective employment equity and official languages plan. To establish a succession plan that created opportunities to position Hamilton to meet the material challenges in the future.

Responsible for all aspects of the largest tax processing centre in Canada including federal income tax, goods and services tax, excise tax, excise duty, provincial income tax, employment insurance, Canada pension acts and relationships with 800 permanent staff, 3 unions, 11 Tax Services Offices, 2 Regional Offices and 4.5 million individual and 440,000 corporate clients. Management challenge was to bring about a change in the management thinking from a command to a participative style. Further to create an environment for change that would embrace opportunities to right size the Sudbury operations, I lead a team in merging the historic processing centre with the operational Tax Services Office resulting in the production of growth in terms of staff, programs, local community and creation of opportunities for cost savings and enhanced compliance.

Saint John Tax Services Office, N.B. Assistant Director Verification and Enforcement Atlantic Regional Office, Halifax Regional Program Co-ordinator Charlottetown Tax Services Office, PEI Assistant Director Audit Specialized Audit Division, Head Office Chief Industry Studies Policy Section Specialized Audit Division, Head Office Senior Policy Development Officer Edmonton Tax Services Office, Alberta Basic Files Auditor Edmonton Tax Services Office, Alberta Senior Business Auditor Halifax Tax Services Office, Nova Scotia Business Auditor Halifax Tax Services Office, Nova Scotia Field Auditor Center for Career Development, Ottawa General Taxation Officer