tax cooperation

Civil Society FfD List Sign-on Letter: Implementation of UN Resolution on International Tax Cooperation

Photo: https://csoforffd.org/

We invite you all to sign on to the letter, and the deadline for doing so is Friday 16 December 2022. You can find the letter here and the form to sign on is here

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To the kind attention of:

Permanent Representatives and Permanent Observers to the United Nations in New York

United Nations Secretariat, Agencies and Programmes

 

X December 2022

 

Subject: Implementation of UNGA Second Committee resolution on promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations (A/C.2/77/L.11/Rev.1)

 

Your Excellencies distinguished representatives of UN Member States,

 

We, the undersigned civil society organisations and trade unions, strongly support and welcome the UNGA resolution on promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the UN (A/C.2/77/L.11/Rev.1). We commend the Africa Group for its excellent leadership on this issue and for finally ensuring implementation of the long-standing demand of developing countries for a UN intergovernmental negotiation process on international tax. We urge all UN Member States to maintain and reinforce the spirit of international cooperation that resulted in the adoption by consensus of this historic resolution. 

 

Furthermore, we are writing to you with a call for all governments to work constructively towards the urgent and efficient implementation of the resolution. This includes: 

 

  1. Supporting a speedy approval in the UNGA Fifth Committee of the required budget allocation for the implementation of the resolution, in line with the related Programme budget implications analysis (A/C.2/77/L.75). The budget requirement, totaling US$ 432,700, was presented to Member States ahead of the adoption of the resolution. We now count on all UN Member States to stand by the consensus agreement reached with the resolution and confirm the allocation of the required resources. We also urge all UN Member States to keep in mind that international tax cooperation is urgently needed, not least to combat tax-related illicit financial flows, which are costing governments hundreds of billions of dollars in lost tax income every year. This must therefore be a matter of high importance and urgency.

 

  1. Supporting strong stakeholder involvement in the consultation process related to the UN Secretary General’s report as mandated by the resolution. We strongly welcome the fact that stakeholder consultation is explicitly included in the text of the resolution, and we stand ready to make our contributions. We, the undersigned civil society organisations and trade unions, bring in-depth knowledge from all regions of the world about the devastating impacts of the failure of international tax cooperation, including the continued bleeding of public resources in the form of illicit financial flows. We also bring concrete and specific proposals for solutions, including for how a future UN Convention on Tax could be designed. 

 

  1. Supporting a strong intergovernmental UN process to strengthen international tax cooperation. Through the resolution, all UN Member States have agreed to “begin intergovernmental discussions in New York at United Nations Headquarters on ways to strengthen the inclusiveness and effectiveness of international tax cooperation”. We strongly welcome this vital initiative, and stress the importance of moving forward with urgency. As stated in the adopted resolution, combating illicit financial flows is an essential development challenge, and developing countries are particularly susceptible to the negative impact of illicit financial flows. Therefore, we believe that the modalities for the foreseen process must be adopted as a matter of high priority, and this should take place no later than the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly. Furthermore, we would like to stress the importance of ensuring that the modalities provide for a transparent and inclusive member state-led negotiation process with full participation of stakeholders, including civil society. 

 

Despite the fact that international tax rules and standards affect all countries and people of the world, there has until this point been no inclusive international body where all countries were able to participate on an equal footing in the decision-making on international tax matters. This injustice is at the heart of the failure of the international tax system, which has continued to be characterised by injustice, inefficiency, incoherence, unilateral actions and beggar-thy-neighbor policies. All countries have paid a high price for this failure, but the impacts on developing countries have been particularly hard. The UN remains the only truly universal body where all countries participate as equals, and the consensus adoption of the UN resolution, including the decision to begin intergovernmental discussions on international tax matters under the auspices of the UN, constitutes a truly historical shift towards fairness and inclusivity. 

The urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the “cost of living crisis”, the fight to increase domestic resource mobilisation and combat illicit financial flows has never been more vital. In 2021, the State of Tax Justice report estimated that countries around the world are losing over US$450 billion per year due to international tax dodging and abuse by multinational corporations and wealthy individuals. Faced with the challenges of financing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and combatting the global environmental crises, it is clear that the international community must take urgent action to strengthen international tax cooperation and stop the immense bleeding of public resources. 

We remain at your disposal if you would like to receive more information or would like to meet to discuss this issue further. 

 

Yours sincerely,

Civil Society Financing for Development Group (www.csoforffd.org)

 

Signatories

 

  1. Civil Society Financing for Development (FfD) Group
  2. Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ): Alliance of five continental tax and fiscal justice networks in Asia (Tax & Fiscal Justice Asia), Africa (Tax Justice Network Africa), Latin America (Red de Justicia Fiscal de América Latina y el Caribe), Europe (Tax Justice-Europe) and North America (Canadians for Tax Fairness & FACT Coalition), collectively representing hundreds of organisations. 
  3. European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad)

 

UNDESA Panel Discussion and Launch Event for the Handbook on Carbon Taxation for Developing Countries

Dear Colleagues,

We are glad to inform you that the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) will, on 25 October 2021 between 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., host a virtual panel discussion a virtual panel discussion and launch event on “The Handbook on Carbon Taxation for Developing Countries: a tool to advance countries’ decarbonization efforts and contribute to the commitments of the Paris Agreement”.

The informal event will take place on the occasion of the launch of the new UN Handbook on Carbon Taxation for Developing Countries and in preparation of COP26; it is framed in the broader discussion on the UN Tax Committee’s contribution to advancing a Tax and SDGs approach to enhancing international tax cooperation for sustainable development.

The panel will discuss how carbon taxation can be instrumental in the fight against climate change, and support countries’ efforts in fostering economic recovery measures, as part of a global response to the current COVID-19 pandemic-induced multidimensional crisis. Panelists will also analyze the relevance of the Handbook in view of COP26 and how this publication can support countries at all levels of development – and in particular developing countries and countries in special situations – in advancing their decarbonization efforts and meeting their pledges under the Paris Agreement. The detailed agenda of the panel discussion is attached.

The English version of the Handbook will be available in electronic format shortly before the launch event, with French and Spanish versions to follow in the first half of 2022.

The event will be opened by representatives from the United Nations and the donor community. The panel discussion and moderated Q&A with panelists will engage experts from developing countries, regional tax organizations, civil society organizations, academia, civil society and the private sector.

All UN Member States and interested stakeholders are welcome to participate in the event.

Kindly register hereWe look forward to your presence and interaction.

To share your feedback or seek further information about the panel, please contact the International Tax and Development Cooperation Branch, Financing for Sustainable Development Office, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (email: taxcommittee@un.org).

With kind regards,

Navid Hanif

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org

Launch of FACTI Panel Interim Report

Launch of the Interim Report of the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda

High-Level Launch Event and Panel Discussion
24 September 2020, 12.00 – 14.30 (UTC) / 8.00 – 10.30 (EDT)

The event is being convened to present the interim report of the FACTI Panel, which identifies the major gaps in implementation and the systemic shortcomings of the existing international frameworks for tax cooperation, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering. It will provide a high-level forum for discussing the priority actions for addressing the identified challenges, particularly in light of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on progress toward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The event will bring the FACTI Panel chairs together with high-level representatives from Member States. It will also foster a discussion amongst civil society, international institutions, academia and the business sector to explore the issues highlighted in the FACTI Panel’s interim report.

The event will consist of two parts: a high-level segment and a moderated panel discussion among invited speakers with a brief interactive dialogue.

*Registration is required. Please register here to receive the connections details.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org