New York, 16 August 2024: After almost three weeks of intense discussions between the world’s governments, the intergovernmental negotiations on Terms of Reference for a new United Nations (UN) Convention on Tax have ended and a final text has been published. At 21.00 CET / 15.00 New York time today, the 193 UN Member States will vote on whether to adopt the text, or not. Eurodad has been following the negotiations in New York and is calling on all governments to vote yes to support the agreement. 

Tove Maria Ryding, Tax Coordinator at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) is in New York and commented on the latest developments: 

“We have reached the most decisive moment in the negotiations. The essence of the fight here in New York is whether the global tax system will continue to be full of loopholes that allow the wealthiest individuals and corporations to hide their wealth in tax havens, or whether we will get a fair system that can help us lower inequalities and find the money for public services, development and environmental protection. 

“Developing country governments have been calling for a strong and ambitious outcome, while developed countries have asked for longer timelines and less ambition in the draft Terms of Reference. The final negotiating text reflects the middle-ground, and it is definitely less ambitious than the initial text we started with when the negotiations began. But we are still looking at a strong outcome that can provide the basis for a fair, ambitious and effective UN Tax Convention, and therefore we are urging all governments to support this text. Specifically, what they need to do now is hit the yes-button when the text is voted upon later today. 

“We hear that a number of developed countries are still hesitant to vote yes to the agreement. We find it absurd that some governments are still dragging their feet on this issue, especially since tax havens and international tax dodging is a problem that causes substantial losses of tax income for countries all around the world. But if the choice stands between no action or a coalition of progressive governments moving forward on their own, we would definitely prefer the latter and call on all governments to join the group of ambitious first-movers by voting yes to the deal today. 

“In the final draft text, they have lowered the level of ambition on a number of issues, including the timeline. Instead of 2026, the text now says that the UN Tax Convention, together with two Protocols, should be finalised by the end of 2027. Given that international tax dodging by wealthy individuals and corporations costs governments over US$ 1 billion per day, we definitely do not welcome this delay, but it is still better than no action at all. The final text still includes action on all the most important issues, including tax havens, corporate tax, wealth taxes and environmental measures, and that makes this a deal that is definitely worth fighting for.” 

ENDS

Media contact: Mary Stokes, Senior Communications Officer | [email protected] | Mobile: +32 491 14 66 56 | WhatsApp: +54 9 11 4401 2506 

Notes to editors:

• The UN negotiations started on 29 July 2024 and are set to finish today, Friday 16 August. The final text can be found here: https://financing.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/Chair%27s%20proposal%20draft%20ToR_L.4_15%20Aug%202024____.pdf  
• An analysis of the text can be found in this Twitter-thread: https://x.com/toveryding/status/1824304150659698937 
• The UN-vote will take place at 21.00 CET / 15.00 New York time today and can be followed live on UN Web TV: https://webtv.un.org/en The vote might be conducted as one overall vote on the entire text, or as several votes on different parts of the text. Furthermore, some governments might still put forward proposals for amendments to the text, which will then also be voted upon. 
• In June 2024, over 200 civil society organisations and trade unions made a joint submission to the UN outlining the key issues that must be addressed by the Terms of Reference for the new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. The submission can be found here: https://financing.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/GATJ_Inputs_AHC%20Tax_2nd.pdf  
• A number of governments and other actors have also submitted their positions on t