A/HRC/31/61 incentives for tax abuse. Similarly, it is unclear how regulative frameworks must be strengthened to increase the transparency and accountability of financial institutions. 51 Concrete proposals are crucial to ensuring that progress in curbing tax abuse can be made. Tax Inspectors Without Borders 64. The third International Conference on Financing for Development also saw the launch of Tax Inspectors Without Borders, an OECD/UNDP joint initiative to help developing counties bolster domestic revenues by strengthening their tax audit capacities. The programme will facilitate the transfer of tax audit knowledge and skills by matching tax audit experts with local officials to work directly on current audits concerning international issues, and to share general audit practices. The initiative was welcomed by stakeholders from business and civil society, as well as OECD and developing countries in Addis Ababa.52 While the provision of technical assistance to developing countries is welcome and necessary, adequate care needs to be taken to avoid conflicts of interest. For example, there have been concerns that some tax experts providing advice have previously assisted transnational corporations in negotiating problematic advance pricing agreements for them or assisted them in other ways to avoid tax payments. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 65. At the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, held in New York on 25-27 September 2015, Member States adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including two targets particularly relevant to illicit financial flows. Target 16.4 of the Goals commits States to “significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime” by 2030. Under target 17.1, States agreed to strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection. The outcome document of the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda (General Assembly resolution 70/1, annex), also mentions that the full implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is critical for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets. 66. There were no similar commitments relating to illicit financial flows and support for domestic revenue generation in the Millennium Development Goals, including Goal 8 on global partnership for development, covering foreign debt, trade and development cooperation. The Independent Expert therefore welcomes the inclusion of these targets on illicit financial flows into the Sustainable Development Goals. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects on automatic exchange of tax information and base erosion and profit-shifting 67. In response to public outcry over tax evasion and corporate tax avoidance, the Group of Eight countries made a commitment at its 39th summit, in June 2013, to introduce automatic exchange of information by tax authorities across the world in order to fight the scourge of tax evasion; to change rules that let companies shift their profits across borders to avoid taxes; to assist developing countries with information and capacity to collect taxes 51 52 See J.P. Bohoslavsky, “Why the Addis debt chapter falls short”, The Road to Addis and Beyond: Financing for Social Development, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (2015). See www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2015/07/13/tax-inspectorswithout-borders-oecd-and-undp-to-work-with-developing-countries-to-make-tax-audits-moreeffective.html. 17