PARENT ORGANIZATION

Formed in 1938, the International Fiscal Association (IFA) is a leading non-governmental, international organization dealing with tax matters. Headquartered in Rotterdam, IFA is comprised of company tax personnel, tax advisers, university professors, and government officials. IFA provides a unique forum for discussing international tax questions.  IFA now has approximately 10,000 members worldwide in over 90 countries, of which 45 have national branches.

The objectives of IFA are the study and advancement of international and comparative law in regard to public finance and specifically international and comparative fiscal law and the financial and economic aspects of taxation. These objects are achieved by publication of a scientific research study of two major subjects annually, seminar papers on topical fiscal matters, and cooperation with related organizations such as the OECD and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.

IFA also sponsors an annual week-long Congress held in a major city throughout the world.  The 2006 Congress will be hosted in Amsterdam by the Dutch branch and will take place the week of September 18th.

USA BRANCH

The USA Branch is the largest IFA branch, with approximately 1,200 members. The Branch is divided into 15 regions, each headed by a Regional Vice President (RVP) and a local committee.  The locations of the regions and the contact  information for the RVPs can be found by clicking on the "Organization" section above.

The Branch hosts a two-day conference in late February/early March of each year consisting of presentations by eminent international tax experts on topics, planning ideas and issues of current importance.  The venue rotates among Washington, DC, New York, NY, and a third city (the 2006 Conference was held in San Antonio).  The research library contains selected papers from the Conference that are available to IFA USA Branch members.  The current scedule of IFA programs and conferences is available in the "Events" section in the right-hand column.

In addition, the USA Branch holds one or two joint meetings each year with an IFA branch from another country. These joint meetings, generally lasting for two days, involve presentations and papers on tax planning techniques and tax issues of mutual interest between the United States and the participating country. These meetings provide participants with the opportunity to not only keep up to date on current issues and planning techniques, but also to meet experienced tax experts from the other country, strengthen professional relationsips, and rekindle friendships. Recent joint meetings have been held with the IFA branches in Canada, Mexico and France. The next joint-meeting will be with the German Branch in Cologne in September (see details in the "Events" section).