NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

In developing countries, around 40 percent of revenue is collected by customs administrations. Customs also plays a pivotal role in helping with issues related to trade policy, regional integration, revenue leakage, investment promotion policies, security, money laundering, and product safety. This event highlights some key capacity building experiences with member countries in these areas, and draws on lessons from the new IMF book, Customs Matters: Strengthening Customs Administration in a Changing World.

Augusto Azael Pérez Azcárraga, Senior Economist, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Augusto Azael Pérez Azcárraga has more than 27 years of experience in customs. He is a senior economist in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, responsible for the coordination of capacity development for customs administrations for Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Perez has led major modernization reforms helping countries improve trade facilitation and customs collection efficiency, while protecting their borders. He previously served for 17 years at the tax and customs administration of Mexico in several positions: Director of Customs Offices, Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade Intelligence, and Deputy Director General of Post-Clearance Audit. He was accredited by the World Customs Organization as a Customs Modernization Expert.

Tadatsugu Matsudaira, Senior Economist, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Tadatsugu Matsudaira, Senior Economist, has been working with the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department since 2017. He covers wide spectrum of customs reform and modernization as well as project design and management based on more than 30 years of experience through Japan customs and the Ministry of Finance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Customs Organization, and the World Bank.

Gilles Montagnat-Rentier, Senior Economist, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Gilles Montagnat-Rentier, a senior economist and former manager with the French customs administration, has been working with the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department since 2003 to advise on customs reform and modernization. His current focus areas are revenue mobilization in Africa, trade facilitation, regional integration, customs procedures for the extractive industries, and challenges faced by fragile and conflict-affected states.

Rebecca Sparkman, Deputy Division Chief, IMF Fiscal Affairs Department

Rebecca A. Sparkman, a US national, is a Deputy Division Chief in the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD), Revenue Administration II responsible for leading and managing capacity development (CD) in both tax and customs administration across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. Prior to joining the Fund in 2016 as a technical advisor and later senior economist leading and delivering CD in tax administrations, Ms. Sparkman had a 29-year career with the US Internal Revenue Service, including senior executive appointments as the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington DC Field Office and Director of Operations, Policy and Support.

Time: 12:00 – 12:30 PM EST