Development Finance International
2 May - Tax Inspectors Without Borders Webinar
Tax Inspectors Without Borders, a joint OCDE/UNDP initiative, held a webinar in May 2016. Launched in July 2015 in Addis Ababa, the project aims at transferring tax audit knowledge and skills to tax administrations in developing countries, working on real cases. In keeping with a practical learning approach, experts work with local officials from tax administrations on current audits and on issues concerning international tax audits.
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14-15 April - Francophone Finance Ministers and Experts Meet in Washington, DC
The Network of Finance Ministers and Experts from Francophone LICs met in Washington, DC in the margins of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Convened by Senegal, the Network's chair country, the meetings were twofold: finance experts and country focal points met on Thursday 14 April to discuss their priorities in terms of fiscal policies in favour of the mobilisation of domestic resources to finance the SDGs. On the agenda were the presentation of the results of the technical workshop held in Dakar, Senegal, in December 2015 on fiscal policies and preliminary outcomes of the revenue study. DFI also introduced the terms of reference of a new study on public-private partnerships (PPP) to be launched in 2016-2017 which will draw on countries' experiences to determine how PPPs can best fit in in their financing strategies.
9-18 March - MTDS Mission to Togo
DFI, together with UNCTAD, conducted a technical assistance mission in debt management for the World Bank. Held in the capital Lomé, this capacity-building event aimed at identifying key strengths and weaknesses which characterise the country’s debt structure. The mission found that Togo achieved considerable progress in terms of formulating debt management strategies and in debt sustainability analysis. However, significant weaknesses were identified at the front and back office level, which calls for strong support from the country’s technical and financial partners.
7 March - ActionAid’s New Report on Tax Treaties
The world’s poorest countries are robbed of billions of dollars in vital revenue due to tax avoidance strategies used by some multinational corporations.
ActionAid’s new "Mistreated" report is based on a dataset of 500 tax treaties signed by low- and lower-middle income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. This extensive research sheds lights on the tax agreements between LICs and wealthier countries and reveals the use of tax treaty networks to limit tax payments in LICs, therefore reducing the amount of crucial revenue as a vital source of public finance.
The report urges for the urgent review of these treaties, more transparency in the negotiation and ratification process as well as better impact assessment on revenue collection and development.
3-19 February - Sudan Debt Strategy Project Concludes, Khartoum/Addis Ababa
The final activities in the Seco-funded support to Sudanese debt policy and strategy concluded during February.
They began with a high-level seminar, at which the Ethiopian Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister shared Ethiopia’s experiences of HIPC and MDRI debt relief, and Sudanese policymakers discussed the draft national debt policy.This was followed by a training event on Debt Pro©, the software used by the IMF to assess debt relief needs and impact.
Finally, two senior Sudanese officials conducted a study tour to Addis Ababa to examine Ethiopian experiences in more detail. The project has been assessed by the Government of Sudan as having achieved its capacity-building aims, and the national debt policy is expected to be approved shortly.
- 18 February - Debt Sustainability Framework Review Roundtable
- 17 February - Resilience and the Role of Fiscal Policies and Institutions in SSA
- 1-2 February - Oxfam Inequality and Fiscal Justice Capacity Building, Bangkok
- 26 January - International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity
