Kenyan appointed to head a global tax administration program

NAIROBI, KENYAN: James Karanja, a career Kenyan tax administrator has been appointed to lead the recently established Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) Secretariat.

The TIWB, is a global scope initiative, that was launched mid last year at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to help developing countries bolster domestic revenues by strengthening their tax audit capacities through ‘learning by doing’ targeted tax audit assistance. Tax audit experts will work alongside local officials of developing country tax administrations to help strengthen tax audit capacities, including issues concerning international tax matters.

Karanja who is the current Head, International Tax Office at KRA will lead the TIWB’s Secretariat, with effect from April 1 2016as the first Head of Secretariat. The TIWB Secretariat, supported by an oversight board of stakeholders, will operate as a clearing house to match the demand for auditing assistance with appropriate expertise. The Secretariat, composed of OECD and UNDP staff and based at the OECD in Paris, will also facilitate full-time or periodic deployment of experts.

Speaking, when he announced the appointment, KRA, Commissioner General, Mr. John Njiraini, said the picking of a youthful Kenyan to head a global tax body speaks volumes of the growing positive repute that KRA, continues to enjoy among its international peers.