This United Nations collection of capacity development tools, activities and other resources on international tax cooperation has been developed as a result of a unique collaborative engagement between government representatives from developing countries, members of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the Committee), a diversified group of world-renowned experts, relevant international and regional organizations and the Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO).
Given that FSDO provides secretariat to the Committee, its capacity development programme on international tax cooperation draws on and provides input to the outputs of the Committee with a view to disseminating and operationalizing them as capacity development tools for the benefit of developing countries.
Following the adoption by the Committee of its 2011 United Nations Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries and 2012 United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries, the two early areas of focus of the programme are tax treaties and transfer pricing. A more recent area of work focuses on protecting and broadening tax base of developing countries. FSDO is also carrying out capacity development activities in the area of tax administration.
The programme is focused on challenges and priorities of developing countries. Members of the Committee review all materials to ensure that they adequately reflect these priorities and challenges, as well as the views and work of the Committee.
All United Nations capacity development tools and activities on international tax cooperation are:
- Demand driven — developed with the ongoing participation of and input from representatives of developing countries and relevant regional and international organizations, including feedback provided during designated workshops.
- Basic and practical — aim to support developing countries with limited experience in international tax matters, recognizing the fact that more advanced countries can benefit from already available more advanced capacity development tools and courses.
- Carried out in partnerships — given the limited resources available, partnerships with other organizations and experts are sought in order to promote complementarities and avoid duplication.