OECD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officials on July 13 formally announced the launch of the Tax Inspectors Without Borders program at the UN’s Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The new program recruits currently serving or recently retired tax officials to work alongside tax officials in developing nations on international tax audits and audit-related issues, thereby enabling the transfer of tax audit knowledge and skills to tax administrations in developing countries.
“The challenges faced by developing countries are being acknowledged internationally and we are delighted to mobilize the best experts worldwide in a practical contribution to domestic resource mobilization,” Angel Gurría, the OECD’s secretary general, said at an event introducing the program.
First proposed in May 2012 by the OECD Task Force on Tax and Development, the program is now operating pilot expert deployment projects and workshops in Albania, Ghana, Senegal, and other nations.
The program organizers said that tax audit advice and guidance supplied by the program to Colombia through the program played a role in increasing tax revenue in that country from USD 3.3 million in 2011 to USD 33.2 million in 2014.
Going forward, a dedicated central organizing unit composed of OECD and UNDP staff will match the demand for auditing assistance with appropriate expertise.
“The Tax Inspectors Without Borders programme is an innovative and practical way of supporting developing countries to mobilise more domestic resources for development.” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark in a statement.
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