BEIJING: Tax authorities of the five BRICS countries today signed a landmark document to establish a mechanism for taxation cooperation, state media said here.
The BRICS Taxation Cooperation Memorandum, signed at the fifth meeting of BRICS Heads of Tax Authorities, is the bloc's first document that elevates taxation cooperation to the institutional level, Xinhua news agency reported.
The authorities also agreed to cooperate on taxation information exchange, improve consultation procedures efficiency, boost taxation capacities and plan paths for coordination of taxation policies and tax collection.
The meeting comes ahead of the 2017 BRICS Summit to be held in Fujian province's Xiamen city from September 3 to 5.
The BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are home to 42 per cent of the world's population. Their total share in the global economy has risen from 12 per cent to 23 per cent in the past decade, while contributing more than half of global growth.