UN hopes 'tax inspectors without borders' will help combat tax evasion

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wants world leaders to put aside "narrow self-interest" to break a deadlock over how to finance the organisation's new global development agenda.

ADDIS ABABA: Backers of a new initiative, dubbed “tax inspectors without borders”, say it can help poor countries crackdown on tax dodging and fund their own development, but advocacy groups on Monday were sceptical that it would work.

Nearly $1 trillion in illicit finance, stemming from tax evasion, crime and corruption, is estimated to leave poor countries each year, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a policy research group.