International tax learning at IFA 2025 Lisbon

Briefings

ADIT Academic Board Chair Jim Robertson, ADIT Manager Rory Clarke, and DITT and ADIT Education Officer Sophie Briggs represented the CIOT at the 77th International Fiscal Association (IFA) Annual Congress in Lisbon from 5-9 October, promoting the Institute’s flagship international tax qualifications – ADIT and DITT – to a global audience.

The Congress attracted more than 2,200 tax leaders and practitioners from around the world, and there was significant interest in both qualifications throughout the five-day event. Delegates were keen to learn more about how ADIT and DITT equip professionals to handle the increasingly complex demands of international tax and tax technology.

Congress highlights

This year’s Congress centred on corporate tax residency and the prevention of treaty abuse, with plenary sessions on these vital issues led by Academic Board members Philip Baker and Luís Eduardo Schoueri. Fellow Board member Diane Ring also featured among the expert speakers leading a seminar on recent global tax developments.

The implementation of Pillar Two was another key topic on the agenda and at the forefront of delegate conversations, providing an excellent platform to introduce the forthcoming ADIT Pillar Two Award – a standalone qualification launching at the end of 2025.

Academic Board and global engagement

The future learning needs of tax professionals were also explored with a meeting of the Academic Board, at which Jim, Diane, Luís and Philip were joined by Sarah Blakelock, Jonathan Schwarz and Jefferson VanderWolk to discuss the ongoing development of ADIT and its future role in meeting the learning needs of international tax professionals.

Throughout the event, the CIOT team had the pleasure of meeting with numerous past and current ADIT and DITT students from across the globe, who shared their personal experiences of our qualifications, and how they built their skills in managing cross-border tax issues and emerging technologies.

Partnership and collaboration

The CIOT exhibited alongside the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC), a US-based research and education organisation that promotes initiatives to encourage investment in transitional and developing economies.

Lisbon marked the third IFA Congress at which the CIOT has partnered with ITIC, and we look forward to continuing collaboration with them in the future, as an organisation that shares our goals of promoting tax learning and best practice around the world.

If you participated in the Congress, we hope you enjoyed it, and we look forward to promoting ADIT and DITT at future IFA events. To stay in touch, you can email Rory and the team at [email protected].

For more information about the forthcoming Pillar Two Award, visit www.tax.org.uk/pillar-two.