Which of the following two organizations are parts of TIWB (Tax Inspectors Without Borders)?
- (a)United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- (b)Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and ASEAN
- (c)UNDP and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- (d)International Labour Organization (ILO) and ASEAN
Correct — C, UNDP and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Tax Inspectors Without Borders is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, launched in July 2015. It places experienced tax auditors alongside the officials of a developing country's revenue administration to work on live international tax audits, chiefly transfer pricing cases involving multinational enterprises, so that skills are transferred by doing rather than by classroom training. India has supported the programme by supplying experts to partner administrations in Africa and Asia.
- (a)United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — It pairs the right United Nations body with a regional grouping. ASEAN is a political and economic association of ten Southeast Asian states and runs no global tax audit assistance programme.
- (b)Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and ASEAN — It keeps the OECD, which is correct, and substitutes ASEAN for the United Nations Development Programme.
- (d)International Labour Organization (ILO) and ASEAN — Neither body is involved. The International Labour Organization sets labour standards, and neither it nor ASEAN runs the programme.
Developing countries lose substantial revenue where they lack the audit capacity to examine complex cross-border arrangements. The OECD is the standard-setter in this field, through the base erosion and profit shifting project and the transfer pricing guidelines, while the United Nations Development Programme has country offices and a development mandate. The programme joins the two — technical standards from one, reach and development framing from the other — and measures itself in additional tax revenue collected by partner administrations.
The item can be reasoned out rather than recalled. Any initiative on tax audit will involve the body that writes international tax standards, so the OECD belongs in the answer, which removes two options at once. Between the two survivors, the question is whether the partner is a United Nations development body or a regional association, and a programme operating across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean cannot be run by a Southeast Asian grouping. India's own role is worth carrying, since it has supplied experts to partner countries.
- Tax Inspectors Without Borders is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme and the OECD, launched in July 2015.
- It deploys serving or recently retired tax auditors to work on live audits with host country officials.
- Its focus is international taxation, particularly transfer pricing in multinational enterprises.
- India has provided tax experts to partner administrations under the programme.
- The OECD also leads the base erosion and profit shifting project and the two-pillar solution on taxing multinationals.
- Assuming India is an OECD member; it is a key partner, not a member.
- Attributing a global tax programme to a regional grouping.
- Confusing this initiative with Doctors Without Borders, which shares the naming pattern and nothing else.
An identification item where one correct partner can be inferred from the subject matter, collapsing four options to two.
India is a member of which of the following? 1. Asian Development Bank 2. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 3. Colombo Plan 4. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 and 3 only
- (b) 2 and 4 only
- (c) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer(a) 1 and 3 only
The status of one of the two partner organisations. India works with the OECD on tax matters as a key partner while remaining outside its membership, which is exactly the distinction that question tests.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Tax Inspectors Without Borders works mainly on which area of taxation?
- (a)Property tax assessment
- (b)International taxation and transfer pricing audits
- (c)Customs valuation of imports
- (d)Personal income tax collection
Answer(b) International taxation and transfer pricing audits — the cases developing administrations find hardest.
- practice — not a real PYQ
With respect to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, India is
- (a)A founder member
- (b)A full member since 1991
- (c)A key partner but not a member
- (d)An observer with no formal status
Answer(c) A key partner but not a member — alongside Brazil, China, Indonesia and South Africa.