On March 15 and 16, 2005, in Rome, Italy, the International Tax Dialogue (ITD) - a joint initiative of the IMF, the OECD, the World Bank with the UN as an active observer - convened the first global tax conference to examine the experiences of countries that have value added taxes (VAT).

VAT is a general consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services as they pass through the supply chain.

The conference was opened by Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, Domenico Siniscalco, and drew participants from about 100 countries, as well as representatives from international and regional tax organizations.