Members of GATJ’s Secretariat and Coordination Committee at the RJFALC and Latindadd Conferences in Lima, Peru.
This past month, members of GATJ have continued the fight for tax systems that are equitable and effective. Read along for more global and regional updates from the end of 2024.
Global
On November 27th, UN Member States have once again voted to support inclusive and effective tax cooperation by adopting the Terms of Reference for the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UN Tax Convention). 125 UN Member States voted in favour, 46 abstained, and 9 against. With this vote, UN Member States are now set to begin negotiating the UN Tax Convention and two early protocols in February 2025.
This strong mandate for the UN Tax Convention includes many of the key demands of the tax justice movement including the effective taxation of multinational corporations, taxing the rich, addressing illicit financial flows, fairly reallocating taxing rights, and support for sustainable development.
Read GATJ’s full reaction to the vote in English, Spanish, or French.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Red de Justicia Fiscal – de América Latina y el Caribe (RJFALC) held their VII assembly on December 6th in Lima, Peru. RJFALC’s assembly followed Latindadd’s conference on the 2nd and 3rd of December on the theme of “Economic, Social, and Climate Justice for Latin America in a World on the Brink of War.”
RJFALC and Latindadd also published a document looking at the importance of the UN Tax Convention and human rights in Latin America.
Africa
Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) organised the annual International Tax Justice Academy 2024 edition (ITJA 2024) where over 30 participants from 16 African countries gained skills to champion fair global tax rules. ITJA 2024 delivered a series of intermediate-level modules aimed at transforming the landscape of taxation and revenue management. ITJA 2024 was held in a hybrid format under the theme, “Building the Next Generation of Tax Justice Champions.” The academy brought together civil society activists, journalists, faith-based activists and researchers to enhance their understanding of critical aspects of global taxation.
Asia
Tax and Fiscal Justice Asia (TAFJA) and APMDD continued sharing their first issue of Our Tax Justice Journey, an e-journal that chronicles stories and experiences of women in Asia ‘rewriting the rules’ as they fight for tax and gender justice in different fronts. It serves as a platform to drumbeat key advocacy moments or processes where women’s voices for tax and gender justice need to be heard.
North America
Canadians for Tax Fairness (C4TF) released a report on their country’s urgent need for an excess profits tax across all sectors and continued to spread the word about how tax breaks for real estate are fuelling the housing crisis in Canada.
The Financial Accountability & Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition shared many companies, including as many as half of all large U.S. multinationals, will begin publicly reporting tax and other financial information for a range of high-risk jurisdictions typically associated with profit shifting under new rules just passed by the Australian Parliament.
Europe
Tax Justice Europe (TJ-E) held their annual meeting in Brussels. At this meeting, Dominik Gross was elected to GATJ’s Coordination Committee as the co-representative from TJ-E alongside Tove Maria Ryding. TJ-E and GATJ warmly thank Maruša Babnik for her tenure on GATJ’s Coordination Committee.
TJ-E also continued supporting a UN Tax Convention, calling on EU Member States to support international cooperation in a statement ahead of the UN Tax Convention vote at the UN General Assembly.
That’s all for now!
The GATJ Secretariat wishes you a great end of 2024. We look forward to continuing working with you as we fight for global tax rules that work for people and the planet in 2025.