‘Tax Inspectors Without Borders’ expands developing country tax and transfer pricing assistance

By Doug Connolly, MNE Tax

Tax Inspectors Without Borders – a joint initiative of the OECD and United Nations Development Programme – expanded the scope of its assistance to developing country tax administrations in the past year amid the challenges faced by the pandemic, according to the initiative’s 2021 annual report released November 9.

The initiative engages international tax experts to assist developing country tax administrations in tax audits and related issues. It has traditionally focused on complex transfer pricing audits but also covers other international tax issues.

During the year covered in the report, July 2020 to June 2021, the ongoing pandemic complicated administration of the program – but it also heightened the need for developing countries, in particular, to raise vital tax revenues. Amid these conditions, the initiative continued to expand geographically and widen the scope of assistance available, although at a somewhat slowed pace.

As of June, the initiative spans 47 jurisdictions, with 43 current programs. Of the current programs, 17 are “South-South,” meaning generally that they involve technical cooperation between developing and lower-income countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since 2012, the initiative has helped to collect a total of USD 1.4 billion in additional tax revenues through its programs around the world. This total includes USD 990 million in Africa, USD 288 million in the Asia-Pacific region, USD 121 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, and USD 1.6 million in Eastern Europe.

Projects that the initiative has been involved in have included Nigeria’s first mutual agreement procedure (MAP) case, Mongolia’s first transfer pricing assessment, and Kosovo’s development of new transfer pricing audit tools.

The 43 current projects – combined with 47 completed projects – brought the program to a total of 90 launched projects. The initiative is aiming to reach a total of 100 projects, i.e., 10 more, by the end of the year.

In 2021 so far, new projects have launched in Bhutan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Maldives, and Zambia.