Strengthening International Tax Cooperation to Fund Growth and Reduce Inequality

Overview and Concept

Two critical sessions on international tax cooperation respond to an urgent need to streng then domestic resource mobilization, restore fairness in tax systems, and ensure that globalization and international cooperation contribute to shared prosperity. 

 

Session 1 – “Building Consensus: UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation”

The negotiations on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation represent the most significant reform effort in global tax governance in decades. As negotiations enter increasingly substantive and politically sensitive stages, there is an urgent need for governments to exchange views, clarify priorities, identify red lines, and explore areas where consensus may be achievable. This session will provide a space for senior policymakers from developed and developing countries to engage in a constructive dialogue on the future of international tax cooperation and the prospects for building broad-based agreements under the UN process.

 

Guiding Questions

• How should a fair allocation of taxing rights between residence and source countries look in the Convention, particularly to ensure that developing countries can tax a fairer share of profits generated through markets, users, services and economic activity within their jurisdictions?
• Given the diversity of national interests, where is consensus possible—and how can negotiators pursue broad participation in the Convention and Protocols without weakening ambition or preserving existing imbalances?

 

Session 2 – “Taxing the Super-Rich: National Experiences and Global Pathways Forward”

The concentration of wealth at the top of the distribution has reached unprecedented levels, generating renewed interest in policies aimed at taxing extreme wealth. In recent years, proposals for wealth taxation, minimum taxation of billionaires, inheritance taxation reforms, and enhanced transparency measures have gained increasing political momentum at national, regional, and international levels. At the same time, governments face important questions regarding the design, implementation, and coordination of these policies. The growing international debate presents an opportunity to examine existing experiences, assess policy options, and identify pathways for greater international cooperation. This session will bring together policymakers and experts to discuss the rationale, feasibility, and political prospects for taxing the super-rich, while exploring how these efforts can contribute to reducing inequality and strengthening fiscal capacity.

 

Guiding Questions

• While international coordination advances, what concrete progress can governments make nationally on the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, including through minimum effective taxes, capital gains and wealth taxation, inheritance taxes andstronger transparency measures?
• What can countries achieve more effectively through a coalition such as the Sevilla Platform for Action—from coordinating reforms and developing shared evidence to addressing tax avoidance and reducing the risks of tax competition?