Bribery and Corruption Awareness Handbook for Tax Examiners and Tax Auditors
This Handbook is designed to raise the awareness of tax examiners and auditors of
issues concerning bribery and other forms of corruption. It provides guidance on how
to recognise indicators of possible bribery or corruption in the course of regular
tax examinations and audits.
Tax examiners and auditors can reduce the negative impact of bribery and corruption
by denying a tax deduction for bribes and other payments associated with these crimes,
and taxing any proceeds from the crime, in accordance with domestic tax legislation.
To deter taxpayers from participating in bribery and corruption, tax examiners and
auditors should refer suspicions of possible bribery and corruption to the appropriate
law enforcement authority or public prosecutor, for investigation and possible prosecution.
Jurisdictions should use this Handbook as a reference tool to guide tax examiners
and auditors on how to recognise indicators of possible bribery or corruption in the
course of regular tax examinations and tax audits.
Previous version
Publication date: 9 December 2009 Pages: 39
OECD Bribery Awareness Handbook for Tax Examiners (2009 version)
The OECD has designed a handbook to provide tax examiners with information on the various bribery techniques used and the tools to detect and identify bribes. The OECD Bribery Awareness Handbook for Tax Examiners is now available in 18 languages.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the 2009 edition includes the Recommendation on Tax Measures for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
The recommendation requires countries to explicitly prohibit the tax deductibility of bribes to foreign public officials and promotes enhanced co-operation between tax authorities and law enforcement agencies both at home and abroad to counter corruption.