Tuesday July 1, 2025
8:30am – 10:30am
📍Auditorium 3, FIBES Conference Center
International cooperation on mobilizing domestic public resources—particularly through fair taxation and democratic transparency—remains a cornerstone of the Financing for Development (FfD) agenda. Once again, the FfD negotiations have underscored deep-rooted challenges in this area, from widespread international tax abuse to global tax standards that often disadvantage developing countries. Yet, a historic shift is underway: one month after the conclusion of FfD4, UN Member States will begin negotiating a groundbreaking UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, alongside two initial protocols. This side-event will take stock of FfD4 outcomes relating to Domestic Public Resources and explore how the proposed Tax Convention and protocols can transform political commitments into tangible action—boosting financing for development and reinforcing progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Description:
Tax revenue is the most reliable and sustainable means of financing public services—from education and healthcare to infrastructure and environmental protection. Accordingly, Domestic Public Resources are a key pillar of the FfD process.
Yet each year, governments collectively lose hundreds of billions of dollars due to cross-border tax abuse by wealthy individuals and multinational corporations. These losses are felt globally but hit developing countries particularly hard. In addition to illicit financial flows, developing countries often contend with international tax standards developed in forums where they lacked equal representation—resulting in rules that fail to address their priorities and realities.
A Historic Moment for International Tax Cooperation
Thanks in large part to the leadership of the Africa Group at the UN, international tax cooperation is entering a new era. In late 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted Terms of Reference for a new Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, along with two early protocols, all set to be finalized by the end of 2027. The process—set to begin in August 2025—will provide all UN Member States an equal voice in shaping global tax rules.
From FfD4 to the UN Tax Convention
The FfD4 negotiations addressed many of the core challenges in international tax cooperation. This side-event will serve as a forum to reflect on those discussions and examine how the new Tax Convention can build on FfD4 commitments.
The Terms of Reference for the Convention already reference many of the issues raised at FfD4, including:
- Equitable taxation of multinational corporations
- Effective taxation of high-net-worth individuals
- Transparency and the fight against illicit financial flows, including tax evasion and avoidance
- Enhanced international tax cooperation to support sustainable development
The FfD4 outcome also highlights additional priorities—such as progressive and gender-responsive taxation, taxation of natural resources, and specific transparency mechanisms—which should be incorporated into the Convention negotiations.
This event will chart the path from FfD4 to the upcoming UN Tax Convention process and discuss how the Convention and its protocols can be structured to maximize domestic resource mobilization, enhance development financing, and promote inclusive and sustainable development. It will also address key cross-cutting themes such as gender equality, environmental sustainability, and human rights.
Preliminary Programme Outline:
- Global overview: Reflections on the Domestic Public Resources chapter of FfD4
- African perspective: The Africa Group’s leadership and role in the Tax Convention process
- Asian perspective: Ensuring integration of gender equality, human rights, progressive taxation, and sustainability
- Latin American perspective: Advancing transparency, information exchange, and fair taxation of global wealth
- European perspective: The responsibility of Global North countries to lead by example in tax cooperation