UN delegates meet in New York to progress international tax framework

Over the next week, United Nations (UN) delegates are meeting in New York to determine the fate of a proposed international tax treaty which could make fossil fuel companies pay for climate damages and crack down on tax evasion among the ultra-rich.

On 2-3 February, UN delegates held their fourth intergovernmental negotiation session for the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. From Wednesday (5-13 February), further discussions are set to take place.

The tax framework was first proposed in 2022 by African nations who sought to shift control of international tax policy from the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes 38 advanced economies, to the UN, which includes 193 member states.

In 2023, the UN secretary general said that stronger international cooperation would be necessary to fight tax avoidance and support public resources to tackle crises and rising inequality.

“Against the backdrop of a looming economic and costs of living crisis, rising inequalities and climate change, there is urgent need for strengthened international tax cooperation to fight tax avoidance and evasion, as well as illicit financial flows,” the UN secretary general’s 2023 tax report read.

“All of these activities have a common feature – they drain resources desperately needed to address the impact of today's crises on lives and livelihoods and to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action.”

The UN’s framework convention on international tax cooperation was proposed as an international legal instrument aimed at improving global tax cooperation and capacity building.

The proposed framework included provisions to “detect, deter and prevent” tax avoidance and evasion by high-net-worth individuals. It also included provisions to build tax administration capacity for developing nations, and strengthen information exchange and mutual assistance frameworks to improve cross-government cooperation combating tax avoidance.

The UN framework also aimed to identify and deter “harmful tax practices,” and enable all countries to tax domestically-generated income in accordance with their domestic policies. The framework convention also sought to crack down on tax-related illicit financial flows, also through stronger mutual assistance and information exchange.

The UN is holding further negotiation sessions and discussions to flesh out the proposed tax treaty in August and November 2026. The framework is due for consideration by the UN General Assembly in September 2027.