A report published today by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament reveals how the German chemical multinational BASF has been avoiding paying taxes in the European Union on a grand scale for years. The company BASF makes targeted use of tax advantages in individual countries, and particularly benefits from tax havens such as Belgium, Malta and the Netherlands. Between 2010 and 2014, BASF henceforth, saved a total of almost one billion euros in taxes. Belgium allows the deduction of [...]
Development Finance & Tax Justice - Archive
Switzerland—arguably the world's leading tax haven—faced tough questions from a UN human rights body in Geneva today over the toll that its tax and financial secrecy policies take on women's rights across the globe. Prompted by a submission from CESR, Alliance Sud, the Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law, Public Eye and the Tax Justice Network, the UN Committee mandated to oversee compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) probed [...]
A different perspective on Tax Inspectors Without Borders
Taxation of multinational corporations is of utmost importance to developing countries, which on average generate around 10% of government revenues from this source. However, there are clear indications that the current international system is not working. One type of tax avoidance alone is currently costing developing countries between $70 billion and $120 billion per year. While often considered highly immoral, such international tax avoidance is often, technically speaking, legal. One of the solutions proposed to developing countries to increase their [...]
The Bretton Woods Institutions stuck in policy dilemmas
This year’s Annual Meeting of the IMF and World Bank took place against the backdrop of continued sluggish growth in developed and developing countries alike. The impact of the commodity price crash weighs heavily on many developing countries and has caused a significant fall in global trade. While the IMF warns that both private and public debt levels remain dangerously high, that the anticipated deleveraging did not happen, the main response of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) is new lending [...]
By Aldo Caliari
Due to UNCTAD’s decidedly pro-South and uncompromising development-focused mission, its quadrennial conferences have traditionally been North –South showdowns. Coming a few months after the adoption of the ambitious and universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 associated goals, the theme of the XIV Quadrennial Conference of UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) was “From Decisions to Actions.” There was, therefore, reason to expect that this time members would bridge their differences for [...]
In July 2015, the international community will have the chance to change the future of finance development. Governments, civil society, trade unions and other actors will meet for the third UN conference on Financing for Development (Ffd) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to take concrete decisions for the future of development and how to finance it. In the run-up to this crucial meeting, two major reports have been released which are intended to inform the upcoming debates: one from the Intergovernmental [...]
The role of tax policy
Maximum Available Resources, Non-retrogressoin and Minimum Essential Levels in Tax Policy” is the second in a series of advocacy tools on human rights and tax policy produced by the RightingFinance Initiative. The series aims to assist education and dissemination of standards on tax policy and human rights contained in a report produced by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. Drawing on that report, this second publication lays out the normative foundations for maximum available resources, non-retrogression [...]
A bitter awakening after 2015’s party of multilateralism
Aldo Caliari, Director of the Rethinking Bretton Woods Project at the Center of Concern, reports on the outcomes of the first ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum that took place April 18 to 20, 2016 in New York. The Forum was intended to be the centerpiece of a reinvigorated follow up to the Financing for Development process created by the Third Financing for Development Conference held in Addis Ababa in 2015. "[...] those observing the first event to follow up on [...]
By Barbara Adams and Sarah Dayringer
Less than one month ago the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopted its “ agreed conclusions” on “Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development.”
From 18-20 April, the Financing for Development Forum (FfD Forum) will provide an early test on the commitment and ability of Member States and the UN system to finance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and address structural obstacles to development.
The CSW Agreed Conclusions state [...]
By Barbara Adams and Sarah Dayringer
Less than one month ago the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopted its “ agreed conclusions” on “Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development.”
From 18-20 April, the Financing for Development Forum (FfD Forum) will provide an early test on the commitment and ability of Member States and the UN system to finance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and address structural obstacles to development.
The CSW Agreed [...]
When tax abuse is human rights abuse
"As revelations in leaked documents from Panama’s Mossack Fonseca law firm send shockwaves around the world, the threat to human rights represented by international tax abuse has been thrown into stark relief. Dozens of political leaders from all corners of the globe have been implicated in large-scale tax evasion and avoidance through secrecy jurisdictions (tax havens), effectively robbing government coffers around the world of much-needed resources that might otherwise be used to fulfill the human rights of ordinary citizens," writes [...]
CSO FfD GROUP’S LETTER TO CHALLENGE THE CURRENT ATTEMPTS BY UN ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE (UNECE) TO DEFINE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ON PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (PPPs)
On the occasion of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Forum on Public Private Partnerships, the Addis CSO Coordination Group, a broad coalition of NGOs working on the issues of the Financing for Development Agenda since the first International Conference on FfD in Monterrey in 2001, has published an open letter. The authors challenge the attempt by UNECE to define international standards on PPPs as illegitimate and call for the issue to be raised during the upcoming FfD Forum [...]
During the United Nations observance of International Women’s Day 2016, Barbara Adams from Global Policy Forum and Social Watch addresses the obstacles to Women’s Rights: the unfair global trade and investment system and the lack of a debt workout mechanism deviate the resources that should ensure an universal social protection floor.
See the video here.
Tax avoidance and evasion represent a systemic drain on government revenues needed for the fulfillment of women’s rights and gender equality. As the international human rights system begins to grapple with the consequences of tax policy for human rights, a groundbreaking initiative is about to shine a bright light into the dark corners of financial secrecy.
Switzerland – arguably the world’s most important tax haven — may soon face scrutiny from the United Nations human rights system over its role [...]
How trade deals threaten tax justice
"Governments should be able to change their tax systems to ensure multinationals pay their fair share and to ensure that critical public services are well funded. States must also be able to reconsider and withdraw tax breaks previously granted to multinationals if they no longer fit with national priorities. But their ability to do so, to change tax laws and pursue progressive tax policies, is limited, thanks to trade and investments agreements", says a new briefing paper by Claire Provost [...]
One of the concrete commitments from the Addis Ababa Action Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 ASD) is the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM). Spearheaded by Brazil and France, the development of the TFM has been described by Sérgio Rodrigues dos Santos of Brazil, as a “testimony to the strength of multilateralism through collective action.”
Expectations are high for TFM in a briefing on its progress, the President of the UN General Assembly lauded the TFM launched in [...]
Following the global financial crisis, low-, middle-and high-income countries are seeing increased levels of sovereign debt. Today, no international mechanism exists to deal comprehensively and effectively with sovereign debt problems. This submission to the UN ad hoc committee on debt that was prepared and endorsed by 27 Civil Society Organizations, calls for an international and independent debt workout mechanism.
The BEPS Monitoring Group, a network of specialists concerned with the effects of international taxation on development and the reform of the international system for the taxation of transnational corporations, has recently published their General Evaluation of the BEPS Project outputs. While acknowledging the importance of the results as a first step towards a better taxation system, the report highlights a range of shortcomings. The proposals do not suggest treating multinational enterprises as a single firm, instead they emphasize the [...]
Barbara Adams, with the Global Policy Forum, talked about the money the U.S. contributes to the United Nations and how that amount compares to contributions by other countries. She also discussed the efficiency of U.N. programs. This program was part of C-SPAN’s “Your Money” series. Each Monday morning the last hour of “Washington Journal” is devoted to a federal program, focusing on its mission, participants, and cost.
Re: Upcoming EU negotiations on public country by country reporting for multinational corporations under the Shareholders Rights Directive
More than 40 European NGOs write to their respective Ministers of Finance and to the European Commission to call for a strong outcome of the upcoming EU negotiations on public country by country reporting for multinational corporations under the Shareholders Rights Directive. Ending the secrecy surrounding the tax payments and economic activities of multinational corporations is a crucial step towards re-establishing public trust in our tax system. By requiring multinational corporations to report publicly on key financial data on a [...]
In its meeting yesterday, 10 September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted principles for a fair resolution of debt crises. The majority of member states voted in favor of the principles, with only 41 countries abstaining and 6 voting against the proposal. Although this outcome falls behind expectations for the creation of a global State insolvency regime, civil society organizations like erlassjahr.de, the German counterpart of the international Jubilee Debt campaign, welcomed the adoption of the principles.
Dear Ambassador,
On September 10th the international community must take an important step towards better prevention and resolution of sovereign debt crises. Adoption of the UN General Assembly Resolution “Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes” would be a milestone towards ensuring that debt crises can be tackled in a timely, orderly, effective and fair manner. As a Europe-wide and international coalition of civil society organisations working on debt justice, we urge you to vote in favour of this Resolution [...]
A new discussion paper by the German Institute for Economic Research analyzes the top tail of the wealth distribution in Germany, France, Spain, and Greece based on the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). Since top wealth is likely to be underrepresented in household surveys the authors integrate the big fortunes from rich lists, estimate a Pareto distribution, and impute the missing rich. Instead of the Forbes the study we mainly relys on national rich lists since they represent a [...]
Just ten days after the UN’s International Conference on Financing for Development, and just in time for the endorsement of the new sustainable development agenda, a UN Committee has agreed on a set of principles to guide further sovereign debt restructuring processes. The new UN principles were inspired by the devastating bank bailouts in Greece, and by the vulture fund lawsuits that Argentina faced at US courts. They build on preparatory work done by an expert group convened by the [...]
"The Addis Ababa Action Agenda is widely seen as a major disappointment for developing countries as well as others hoping for adequate means of implementation to realise national development ambitions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It has become clear that the South, including the least developed countries, should not expect any serious progress to the almost half century old commitment to transfer 0.7 percent of developed countries’ economic output to developing countries. But to add insult to injury, developing [...]
