From August 3 to 13, the 5th session of negotiations for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UN Tax Convention) took place at the UN Headquarters in New York. The first week of the session covered the newly released zero draft Framework Convention, marking an important step towards addressing the core issues of the international tax system. The second week of negotiations covered the first and second early protocols, on taxation of digital services and tax dispute prevention and resolution, respectively.
The negotiations got to the heart of the issue: fairly sharing between countries the ability to tax multinational corporations, effectively taxing the rich, and ensuring transparency. The session saw strong engagement, showing that the debate is open. At the close of the session, GATJ Executive Coordinator Dr. Dereje Alemayehu shared how the session was a clear signal that countries are pushing towards a fair and equitable tax system.
Following the 5th session, GATJ and over 150 civil society organizations and trade unions made a joint submission on the zero draft Framework Convention as well as joint submissions on the two early protocols, available here in English, Spanish, and French. The Tax and Gender Working Group, convened by GATJ, built upon the submission in a joint feminist submission here.
The next session of negotiations will take place from November 30 to December 10 in Nairobi. Now, civil society is calling for continued ambition and bold proposals by governments that meet the scale of the issue.
