UN Tax Committee laid groundwork for successful term during its 23rd Session
The UN Tax Committee successfully concluded its 23rd session, the first of the 2021-2025 membership. The session was devoted to deliberations on issues of continuing relevance to international tax cooperation and new issues. In each case, the Committee honed in the areas where UN guidance might help ensure tax systems that work for all stakeholders and assist in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, during the COVID-19 recovery and beyond.
The Committee decided on the formation of subcommittees to take forward the guidance work. Throughout the meeting, Committee members recognized their role in ensuring outcomes are development-oriented and practical to align with domestic resource mobilization efforts of countries. In accordance with the Committee mandate, they take special account of the issues for, and the situations of, developing countries.
The pandemic and calls for “building back better” helped inspire the Committee when developing its work programme from a sustainable development lens. This shows in its establishing work streams and subcommittees in five new areas: wealth taxes; increasing tax transparency; relationship of tax, trade and investment agreements; indirect taxation; and health taxes. This is in line with the Committee’s mandate to strengthen international cooperation in tax policy and administration in both domestic and international tax matters.
Previously successful work on the following topics will be built upon further in the following areas: the UN Model Taxation Convention; the UN Manual on Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties; the taxation of the digitalized and globalized economy; transfer pricing; extractive industries taxation; and environmental taxation. The Committee also established small groups on taxation and COVID-19; dispute avoidance and resolution; digitalization and improvement of tax administration; and Committee practices and working methods.
Detailed information can be found in the Report on the 23rd Session. The next Committee session takes place in April 2022.