4 October 2018: Increased tax revenue directly attributable to the Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) and TIWB-style support are estimated at US$414 million, according to a report on activities over the programme’s second year of operations. The revenues raised have been about 100 times programme costs, which means that every US dollar spent on TIWB has resulted in $US100 in additional tax revenues.

TIWB is a joint initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). It aims to boost domestic revenue mobilization by improving tax auditing and tightening compliance efforts across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The partnership was launched at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 2015, responding to the need to mobilize domestic resources to achieve the SDGs and the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on FfD.

TIWB reports that it is on track to deliver 100 deployments of tax auditor experts to developing countries by 2020. TIWB programmes are driven by the needs of host administrations, covering industry sectors such as agriculture, construction, financial services, information technology and communications, hospitality, manufacturing and mining. Current programmes specialize in auditing process, risk-based selection of audit cases and negotiating advance pricing arrangements. Audits under TIWB programmes mainly deal with transfer pricing and international taxation, including permanent establishment, validation of management and service fees, and the valuation of intellectual property.

James Karanja, TIWB Head of Secretariat, said the programme is developing a model for systemic change that put developing countries in the driver’s seat in raising the revenues needed for economic and social development. [UNDP press release] [Publication: Tax Inspectors Without Borders: Annual Report 2017/2018] [TIWB background information]