Today the United Nations (UN) will hold a vote to decide whether to adopt the Terms of Reference (ToR) for a new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation.

The vote will take place during a meeting of the 2nd Committee of the Assembly, which runs from 10.00-13.00 New York time and will be broadcast through UNTV. The vote relates to agenda item 16(f) – ”Promotion of inclusive and effective international cooperation on tax matters at the United Nations”.

Specifically, the vote will be on a resolution tabled by the Africa Group and includes the adoption of the ToR, which mandates the negotiation of three legally binding UN agreements on tax – one framework convention and two protocols. If the resolution is adopted, the negotiation of the legally binding agreements would begin in February 2025 and conclude by the end of 2027. The ToR is the result of a negotiating process that took place in an Ad Hoc Committee from February to August 2024, and where all UN Member States were able to participate on an equal footing.

Tove Maria Ryding, Tax Coordinator at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad), will be following the vote and said:  

“We now have a chance to get a new UN Convention that can crack down on tax havens and promote a fairer global tax system that works for all countries, including the poorest. It would also be a convention that looks at ways to ensure that the world’s richest and most powerful individuals and corporations start paying their share of taxes. This is a historic opportunity that we cannot afford to miss, so we are calling on all governments to vote yes to the UN Tax Convention.

“Countries around the world are losing hundreds of billions of Euros every year due to tax havens and loopholes in the global tax rules. The EU is also heavily impacted by international tax dodging. The European Commission has estimated that around €100 billion is lost every year due to multinational corporations using international loopholes to reduce their tax payments. We need our governments to show a sense of urgency and determination in the fight against international tax dodging by wealthy individuals and multinational corporations, not least in light of a new wave of austerity, the cost of living crisis and the ongoing environmental emergencies.

“Unfortunately, many developed countries have been dragging their feet on this issue and some have been outright obstructive. While they all participated very actively in the ToR negotiations, they have either abstained or voted against the process until now. We would never have come this far without the immense leadership shown by the African countries, who have championed the issue of a fair and effective global tax system. It is now high time for developed countries to demonstrate they are also serious about international tax cooperation.”

ENDS

Media enquiries: Contact the Communications Team at Eurodad on: [email protected].

Notes to editors

• The Terms of Reference for a new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and two early protocols can be found here. The ToR was adopted after a vote in an Ad Hoc committee in August 2024, but the ToR is not finally adopted before it has been approved by the 2nd Committee of the UN General Assembly. Further information about how the ToR was developed can be found here.
• The resolution that will be up for a vote in the 2nd Committee of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday 27 November can be found here. The resolution has been tabled by Nigeria on behalf of the Africa Group at the United Nations. It includes the adoption of the ToR for the new UN Tax Convention and outlines a negotiating process that would start in February 2025 and end in 2027.
• In its Annual Report on Taxation 2024, the European Commission highlighted that: “Revenue losses due to corporate profit shifting as one strategy of aggressive tax planning are estimated to be worth up to 20% of all [corporate income tax] revenues collected in 2022 in the EU which would amount to about EUR 100 billion in nominal terms. Beyond those substantial revenue implications, avoidance and evasion of taxes tilt the level playing field among actors in the economy and threaten to undermine tax morale.”