Global Tax 50 2015: Armando Lara Yaffar

Armando Lara Yaffar was also in the Global Tax 50 2014, and 2013

By virtue of his role as the chairman of the UN Tax Committee, Armando Lara Yaffar is a mainstay of the Global Tax 50.

With the BEPS Project taking centre stage in the tax world for much of 2015, the UN followed the OECD's lead by committing to better international tax cooperation. Lara Yaffar's organisation also threw its weight behind country-by-country reporting (CbCR).

The impact of this should not be understated – with 193 members, the UN is engaged with far more countries than the OECD could ever hope to be, and holds sway outside of tax and business.

Other policy areas to which the UN committed were strengthened transparency, greater access to beneficial ownership information and a focus on the appropriateness of tax incentives.

A key event in the UN calendar this year was the launch of the Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme in July. The programme, which is a joint initiative from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the OECD, aims to supplement the auditing abilities of developing countries in the international tax arena.

"The Tax Inspectors Without Borders programme is an innovative and practical way of supporting developing countries to mobilise more domestic resources for development," says Helen Clark, UNDP administrator. "With its country-level presence and local knowledge, UNDP is well-placed to partner with the OECD and the best audit experts to scale-up this important work. TIWB can support countries to realise the post-2015 agenda."

At the UN's third international conference on financing for development, held in July in Addis Ababa, the UN and OECD resisted calls for a global tax body. It was also agreed that the UN Tax Committee would hold two annual four-day meetings, rather than the one which it held in the past.

The director general of the Mexican Ministry of finance and Public Credit, Lara Yaffar was also involved in the negotiation of a double tax treaty between the Philippines and Mexico at the start of the year. He led the delegation from his native Mexico, while the Philippines team was led by his UN colleague, tax expert Kim Jacinto-Henares.