The first Latin American Tax Hackathon was held last April 24 and 25 in Santiago, organized by the Internal Revenue Service and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It was aimed at pre-grade, post-grade students and entrepreneurs and innovators in general who competed with original and innovatory ideas for tackling challenges related to how the Inland Revenue Service manages its affairs.
Prominent among the challenges the competitors faced during these two days were issues related to taxpayers’ experiences when dealing with the IRS, strengthening education in tax matters so that everybody understands that paying their share in taxes contributes toward the country’s development and that of its inhabitants, and that inspections aimed at tax evasion and the collection of resources are necessary for implementing different public policies, among others.
The winning team received as a prize a trip to Washington DC to present their proposal at the annual meeting of the IMF that brings together authorities, representatives of society in general as well as academics.
A group of 4 high level consecutive interpreters from MundoChile was on hand to help the English-speaking instructors interact seamlessly with the work tables of the participants in the Hackathon, resulting in positive comments on their performance made by the IMF and IRS organizers.