Dear Achim, Colleagues,
A very warm welcome to this annual Stakeholders Workshop of Tax Inspectors Without Borders, which the OECD is proud to support alongside the UN Development Programme.
Your continued engagement has driven the success of Tax Inspectors Without Borders for nearly ten years.
Last year was no exception.
We continued delivering tangible results and stepped up our efforts in helping countries increase their tax revenues by developing the capacity of their tax administrations.
The report we are launching today shows that, since the inception of this programme in 2015, together, we helped tax administrations in developing countries generate an additional USD 2.3 billion in tax revenues and over USD 6 billion in tax assessments across 62 jurisdictions around the world.
In the 18 month-period covered by the report, USD 600 million in additional tax revenues and USD 2.15 billion in overall tax assessments have been raised by developing countries.
We have completed 71 programmes, including 25 initiatives which fostered peer-to-peer exchanges between developing countries, with 59 more programmes in progress.
Through these programmes, we deploy experts to developing country tax administrations and provide practical, hands-on assistance on audit cases and tax issues, including:
- assessing transfer pricing,
- conducting criminal tax investigations,
- digitalising tax administrations, and
- making effective use of automatic exchange of financial account information.
Our strategic partner, the Africa Tax Administration Forum, has played a key role in amplifying our reach across the continent.
Together with you, we have helped 34 jurisdictions in Africa collect more than USD 1.8 billion in additional tax revenues.
The impact of our work goes beyond increased revenues.
Our programmes supported the implementation of structural reforms, including organisational and legislative enhancements such as specialised units for international tax audits and transfer pricing in Ghana, Uganda and Zambia to name a few.
Looking ahead, we will continue to build on our success, including supporting the effective implementation of the Two Pillar Solution for a fairer distribution of profits and taxing rights.
We look forward to continuing to work with you, to support better tax policies for better lives.
My best wishes for a positive, productive and impactful meeting.
