Afrikka UNDP Tax Project / Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB)

Finland and Norway have supported UNDP?s work in Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) which is a joint UNDP/OECD initiative. The TIWB seeks to enhance capacities in national tax administrations to raise revenue from multinational enterprises (MNE). It does this by sending experienced tax inspectors from more advanced countries to (primarily African) low income countries to audit MNE tax declarations together with national tax inspectors. This is one way to build capacity through learning-by-doing.This work will be extended in 2021-24 through the UNDP Tax Project co-financed by Finland and Norway. In the new phase the goal is to fully capitalize on the relative strengths of the UNDP as a global network and champion of South-South cooperation with country offices in every country in the South. A new goal will be to integrate taxation capacity questions more strongly onto the national SDG-agendas in a large number of countries particularly in Africa. The TIWB has proved a successful initiative and lived up to its expectations. The TIWB program has helped developing countries raise more than $ 1 billion in additional tax revenue. The project supported by Finland has a regional focus on Africa where every dollar invested in the TIWB activities has generated more than $ 100 in additional tax revenue according to the TIWB Secretariat?s reports. As a TIWB Board member Finland has seen its strengths and weaknesses. The UNDP can add value to the initiative through its extended country presence its key role in supporting the governments in the mobilization of their national SDG-Agendas. The extension co-financed by Finland and Norway will give the UNDP the opportunity to enhance the sustainability of the TIWB initiative through South-South peer-learning integration of domestic resource mobilization questions into the national SDG-dialogues and by enhancing the voice and impact of developing countries in global tax policy processes. During the first two years of the TIWB Initiative (2017-18) Finland was the only development partner sponsoring (by 800.000e) the UNDP role in the initiative. During 2019-20 Norway joined Finland in co-financing the UNDP tax work. The Finnish funding was 1 million euros. The additional funding is justified by the success of the UNDP tax work good results and increasing demand by the developing countries.