A WARRINGTON tax expert is jetting out to developing countries to help end their reliance on aid.

Tracey Brooks, who lives in Warrington and is a former Croft Primary School pupil, spends time visiting countries to help them strengthen their tax systems and draft tax legislation.

The Department for International Development (DFID) has recently announced a new package of support to improve tax systems in developing countries.

This will help tackle tax evasion and avoidance in the developing world, build effective tax systems and generate more revenue to fund public services such as health and education.

Tracey explained: "The job I went out to do was a new post, so no one had been out before.

"It was different in that I was working on the ground.

"It was about advising these countries to help them improve their tax legislation, so they have more revenues to spend on vital public services."

She stressed that working in Africa was far removed from life in Warrington and the UK; they don't have many hospitals so there are limited health services.

Tracey recalled: "You see a lot that shocks you.

"In Liberia I saw more people with amputations in one day than I have seen in my life.

"I am incredibly proud of the work we are doing out in Africa, I’m also incredibly proud of the UK for making this resource available to help improve lives.

"I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world to have a job that enables me to make such a big difference to the quality of people’s lives."

As part of the new package of support, additional funding will be provided for the Tax Inspectors Without Borders Initiative (TIWB) which assists developing countries to implement international tax standards by sending experts overseas.

DFID will continue to use the UK’s expertise to raise the standards of tax systems of developing countries to create a more stable environment for investment.