THE Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) project was launched in July 2015 by
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as an innovative attempt to address widespread
tax avoidance by multinational enterprises in developing countries and as a contribution
towards financing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Significant progress has been made by this project which was designed to
enhance developing countries' ability to bolster domestic revenue collection
through strengthening of tax audit capacities.
TIWB organises deployment of highly qualified tax experts to countries that request
assistance with ongoing audits of multinational companies. The projects focus
on revenue recovery and improving local audit capacity while sending a strong
message on the need for tax compliance.
Eight pilot projects - in countries spanning the globe from Africa to Asia and
Latin America - have resulted in more than $260 million in additional tax revenues
to date. This includes more than $100 million in new tax revenues generated through
TIWB audits in Zimbabwe, demonstrating the tremendous potential for future projects.
Thirteen projects are underway worldwide, in Botswana, Costa Rica, Ethiopia,
Georgia, Ghana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
A range of new programmes will launch in the coming year - including new deployments
of auditors to Republic of Congo, Egypt, Uganda, Cameroon and Vietnam - toward
the goal of 100+ deployments by 2020. This will also include the first South-South
cooperation project under the TIWB initiative, which will see Kenyan auditors
deployed to Botswana in 2017.
TIWB projects are currently being supported by a range of organisations, including
revenue authorities in the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, the African
Tax Administration Forum and the Paris-based TIWB Secretariat, which facilitates
full-time or periodic deployment of experts for all programmes.
To better fulfill its clearinghouse role - matching demands for auditing assistance
with appropriate experts - and to meet growing demand for TIWB projects, the
Secretariat is expanding its roster of available experts.
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