News for Africa shows that diplomats from the European Union and the UK have been accused of trying to “kill” proposals that seek to give more voice to developing countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil, India, and others in international tax negotiations.
There are talks at the United Nations over plans to give the UN more of a role in global tax discussions. This is a measure being pushed for by low and middle-income countries.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organized countries over international tax matters for decades, and now it is being criticized by officials in some developing economies who believe it does not reflect their interests.
According to a Financial Times report, last year, a group of 54 African countries, frustrated at the OECD process, successfully brought a resolution at the UN General Assembly.
They said that the UN secretary-general should produce a report assessing ways to strengthen the “inclusiveness and effectiveness” of international tax cooperation, including options that gave the UN more of a role on the global tax stage.
