Input to the UN Secretary General on international tax cooperation

As part of the Initiative P&D, GI-ESCR participated in a submission to the UN Secretary General in the context of its open call for inputs in the process of preparing its report on the “Promotion of inclusive and effective tax cooperation at the United Nations”.

The main objective of the submission was to highlight existing normative standards emerging from international human rights law that apply to fiscal policy and stress that human rights obligations must inform the whole fiscal policy cycle as well as tax negotiation processes at the global level. Considering the SG’s mandate to gather “all relevant international legal instruments, other documents and recommendations that address international tax cooperation” in preparation of its report, the Principles of Human Rights in Fiscal Policy seems particularly relevant. While the Principles build on numerous sources, we shed light on some of the core United Nations Human Rights treaties as relevant legal instruments for the SG’s current endeavor. You can see our input here.

We also joined a coalition of global organizations by presenting inputs to the UN Secretary General advocating for the discussion and adoption of a UN Framework Convention on Tax. In the letter we also stress the need to design the intergovernmental discussions on ways to strengthen the inclusiveness and effectiveness of international tax cooperation with full and meaningful participation of civil society organisations, observers and trade unions.

You can read the letter here