Tax XML TASC conference call notes.

Date: / March 3, 2004 / Note taker: / Alex Fiteni
Time: / 16:00 EDT / 21:00 GMT
Participants: / Andy Greener (Chair)
Alex Fiteni
Arndt Liessen
David Chambers
John Glaubitz
Michael Roytman
George Farkas
Peter DeCastro
Chuck Myers
Sylvia Webb
Eric Cohen / UK HM-IR
Oracle Corp
OECD
UK HMCE (Customs & Excise)
Vertex
Vertex
Individual
Mitre
Adobe
GEFEG
PwC/XBRL

Action Items

1. Obtain the OAGIs Tax Core Component XML or other descriptive document (XSD or Rational Rose PTL file) and provide the files to TC members - Alex Fiteni– March 12, 2004

2. Pull in the UML definitions from UBL into the process model - John Glaubitz – March 12, 2004

3. Mapping of new definitions to existing terms, add new or identify synonyms - Michael Roytman, David Chambers, others – March 12, 2004

Work in Progress

Indirect Tax Core Component - Andy Greener

The Tax Core Component defines the tax information relevant to a transaction and is used within electronic documents like PO, Invoice, etc to articulate a common set of attributes of interest to taxpayers and tax authorities in computing tax.

It was decided in San Francisco to take the proposed Tax Core Components from OAG and from UBL and try to extract an Ontology from them. Taxonomy of terms and process models. The resulting Ontology would be reviewed by the members for consistency. The objective is not compare the two sources but rather to focus on building a core domain definition for tax. It is expected that any related terms that would serve to complete the definition(s) would also be added.

Sylvia Webb mentioned that OAGiS would be publishing version 9 of their standard that is designed to harmonize with the UBL + UNCEFACT core components

As a start, the initial TaXML Process Models offered by Vertex could be used as a source to build the Tax Ontology model from a process perspective. The Tax Core Components published by the OAG and by UBL may also provide a source for additional elements in the model.

OAGiS uses xsd definitions but may possibly have a Rational Rose version – Alex Fiteni to follow up with Garret Minakowa to get whatever they have.

UBL – The models are prepared and published using UML. John Glaubitz would follow up with the UBL liaison.

David Chambers volunteered to work with John and Michael but needs access to tools to help with taxonomy and terms definitions. Michael Roytman would help David Chambers get appropriate access.

Further, Michael is going to make the repository tool available to the members and observers of TASC to facilitate the collection and analysis of indirect tax terminology and processes from a number of sources.

Standard Transfer File – Arndt Liesen

Arndt Liesen asked for views from the TC on the usefulness of the STF. There are two ways to look at the outcome of the informal review made by Mitre at the SF Face to face meeting of Tax XML Technical committee in January:

(1) A friendly wording for "not a useful way to go, technical deficiencies will make success questionable".

or

(2) "quite ok, but not (yet) a foundation for the future work of Tax XML, because of the rather narrow subject field and the lack of properties that a broad standardization effort should have (well formulated vision and ontology, explicit business modeling of underlying processes etc.)".

Arndt is not suggesting that the STF is the standard but rather an agreed upon means of communicating between governments (G2G). Arndt’s position is that he did not want the initial 'S' in STF to suggest to anybody that he was proposing a single ‘Standard’ to cover the whole tax domain, rather all his goal is to standardize a G2G transfer mechanism within the OECD framework that already exists in other electronic formats.

Peter DeCastro summarized his understanding of the STF purpose and scope, and emphasized that he was trying to get the OASIS Tax XML TC to understand the importance of the Ontology as a framework for the proper evaluation of such standards. Peter will continue to work with Arndt and with Harm-jan to get a better understanding of the STF.

The consensus of the meeting is that the second alternative applied. It was also said that under another possible aspect (conformance) the review of STF was of course a bit early, as in Tax XML there is not yet anything to measure it against.

Arndt Liesen also mentioned that the European Union (EU) are establishing a standard "Fiscalis" set of XML schemas that the EU commission is setting up for tax data exchange between EU countries. (Arndt Liesen further clarified in an email following the meeting:

“The schema for the e-services application (EU directive for taxation of non EU traders providing e-services inside the EU) has been the first step. We (the relevant groups in OECD and EU) are trying to keep Fiscalis and STF together as closely as possible. “

[AF: Thanks to Arndt Liesen for the clarification email]

End of Conference Call

The call terminated just before 5:30pm EDT / 10:30pm GMT.

Next Meeting

The next conference call of the TASC will be on Wednesday 7th April 2004 at 4pm-5pm Eastern Time

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Tax XML Technical Analysis Sub Committee March 3, 2004