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Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 2 October 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 October 2019. It was answered by Andrew Stephenson (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 October 2019 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Developing Countries: Taxation

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to help strengthen the tax systems of developing countries in order to increase funding for services to support the poorest people.

Answer

The UK is committed to supporting countries to achieve the Global Goals, including working actively with countries to help raise and manage public revenues, and thereby to invest in their public services and infrastructure.

In February 2019 we announced a new £47 million package of support to assist developing countries in strengthening their tax systems. This package will provide technical assistance and capacity building support through a number of partners. It will also help contribute to economic growth by helping to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, and by creating a more level playing field for businesses. In addition to this new package of support, the UK has a number of other initiatives underway to help strengthen tax systems; in August 2018 DFID Ethiopia launched a £35 million programme to support the Ethiopian government in transforming the country’s tax system, and HMRC’s Capacity Building Unit provides peer-to-peer expertise to raise the standards of tax systems of developing countries.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
293578
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Developing countries Taxation
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk