Your Excellency Ambassador Shava, President of ECOSOC,Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address this special meeting of ECOSOC on international cooperation in tax matters.
This meeting takes place at an opportune time. Next month, the Council will hold the 2nd Forum on Financing for Development follow-up. Member States launched the informal consultations on the outcome of the Forum earlier this week. Your deliberations will serve to bring Member States up to date on the most recent developments in international cooperation in tax matters, before they delve into negotiations.
Convened immediately after the last session of the current membership of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, this meeting also offers an opportunity to reflect on the Committee’s major achievements and to look to its future contribution.
In this spirit, I wish to highlight the legacy that this membership of the Committee will leave for its successor and beyond.
The Committee reviewed and updated the United Nations Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries. It attests to the unique value of the Committee’s work and its potential to have a profound influence on international tax treaty practice in the future. We expect it to be issued by the end of this year.
To complement the UN Model, the Committee also produced the United Nations Manual for the Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties between Developed and Developing Countries. This compact training tool seeks to provide practical guidance to tax treaty negotiators in developing countries, in particular those who negotiate based on the UN Model. It deals with all the basic aspects of tax treaty negotiation and it is focused on the realities and stages of capacity development of developing countries.
The revision of the United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries is complete and will be launched at this meeting. The Transfer Pricing Manual assists policy makers and administrators in dealing with complex transfer pricing issues, but also taxpayers in dealing with tax administrations.
The taxation of natural resource extraction has a strong effect on countries’ ability to mobilize domestic resources. The Handbook on Taxation of the Extractive Industries in Developing Countries, which contains guidelines, approved by the Committee, has been finalized and will be launched in October 2017. The Handbook will continue to serve the purpose of correcting the asymmetry in specialist information and expertise between multinational companies and developing countries, as well as between developed and developing countries on taxation of the extractive industries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The impact of normative developments cannot be realized without adequate support for capacity development.
The United Nations programme of capacity development on international tax cooperation, implemented by the Financing for Development Office of my Department, places strong emphasis on the needs and priorities of developing countries, especially the least developed ones.
It aims at strengthening the capacity of national tax authorities and ministries of finance in developing countries to develop more effective and efficient tax systems, which support the desired levels of investment, and to combat tax evasion, as mandated by ECOSOC resolution 2017/2.
The programme is carried out through a unique collaborative engagement of tax officials from developing countries, members of the Committee, other world-renowned experts, and relevant international and regional organizations. This multi-stakeholder approach aims to ensure that all activities are truly demand-driven and effectively address the needs of developing countries.
It features training courses, publications and other capacity development tools, with the focus on three main areas: double tax treaties; transfer pricing; and tax base protection for developing countries. The programme largely draws on the outputs of the Committee, with a view to disseminating and operationalizing them for the benefit of developing countries.
The capacity development programme gained increased recognition by its clients as well as other major institutions operating in this area. The establishment of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax demonstrated the increased value-added of the United Nations in this area.
Launched in April 2016 as a joint effort of the IMF, OECD, the United Nations and the World Bank Group, the Platform aims to intensify the cooperation between these organizations on tax issues and strengthen their ability to provide capacity-building support to developing countries, with jointly developed guidance and toolkits.
The Platform has made progress on several fronts, including the preparations for the first global conference to be organized under the aegis of the Platform. To be held in February 2018 at the UN headquarters in New York, the Conference will focus on the theme of “Taxation and the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the term of the current membership of the Committee comes to an end in June, the process of selecting the new membership of the Committee is under way.
As mandated by ECOSOC resolution 2004/69 and reconfirmed by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Committee members shall be nominated by Governments and act in their expert capacity. They are to be drawn from the fields of tax policy and tax administration and selected to reflect an adequate equitable geographical distribution, representing different tax systems. The members shall be appointed by the Secretary-General, in consultation with Member States.
My Department, through the Financing for Development Office, will support the Secretary-General in his consultations with Member States and appointment of the new members of the Committee. To kick-start the process, a note verbale will be circulated to all Member States in the course of this month to seek nominations of experts.
Before I conclude my remarks, let me take this opportunity to thank all Member States for supporting DESA in our servicing of the Committee, as well as our capacity development programme. My Department remains committed and stands ready to work with all of you towards continued success.
Thank you for your attention.
I am pleased to address this special meeting of ECOSOC on international cooperation in tax matters.
This meeting takes place at an opportune time. Next month, the Council will hold the 2nd Forum on Financing for Development follow-up. Member States launched the informal consultations on the outcome of the Forum earlier this week. Your deliberations will serve to bring Member States up to date on the most recent developments in international cooperation in tax matters, before they delve into negotiations.
Convened immediately after the last session of the current membership of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, this meeting also offers an opportunity to reflect on the Committee’s major achievements and to look to its future contribution.
In this spirit, I wish to highlight the legacy that this membership of the Committee will leave for its successor and beyond.
The Committee reviewed and updated the United Nations Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries. It attests to the unique value of the Committee’s work and its potential to have a profound influence on international tax treaty practice in the future. We expect it to be issued by the end of this year.
To complement the UN Model, the Committee also produced the United Nations Manual for the Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties between Developed and Developing Countries. This compact training tool seeks to provide practical guidance to tax treaty negotiators in developing countries, in particular those who negotiate based on the UN Model. It deals with all the basic aspects of tax treaty negotiation and it is focused on the realities and stages of capacity development of developing countries.
The revision of the United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries is complete and will be launched at this meeting. The Transfer Pricing Manual assists policy makers and administrators in dealing with complex transfer pricing issues, but also taxpayers in dealing with tax administrations.
The taxation of natural resource extraction has a strong effect on countries’ ability to mobilize domestic resources. The Handbook on Taxation of the Extractive Industries in Developing Countries, which contains guidelines, approved by the Committee, has been finalized and will be launched in October 2017. The Handbook will continue to serve the purpose of correcting the asymmetry in specialist information and expertise between multinational companies and developing countries, as well as between developed and developing countries on taxation of the extractive industries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The impact of normative developments cannot be realized without adequate support for capacity development.
The United Nations programme of capacity development on international tax cooperation, implemented by the Financing for Development Office of my Department, places strong emphasis on the needs and priorities of developing countries, especially the least developed ones.
It aims at strengthening the capacity of national tax authorities and ministries of finance in developing countries to develop more effective and efficient tax systems, which support the desired levels of investment, and to combat tax evasion, as mandated by ECOSOC resolution 2017/2.
The programme is carried out through a unique collaborative engagement of tax officials from developing countries, members of the Committee, other world-renowned experts, and relevant international and regional organizations. This multi-stakeholder approach aims to ensure that all activities are truly demand-driven and effectively address the needs of developing countries.
It features training courses, publications and other capacity development tools, with the focus on three main areas: double tax treaties; transfer pricing; and tax base protection for developing countries. The programme largely draws on the outputs of the Committee, with a view to disseminating and operationalizing them for the benefit of developing countries.
The capacity development programme gained increased recognition by its clients as well as other major institutions operating in this area. The establishment of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax demonstrated the increased value-added of the United Nations in this area.
Launched in April 2016 as a joint effort of the IMF, OECD, the United Nations and the World Bank Group, the Platform aims to intensify the cooperation between these organizations on tax issues and strengthen their ability to provide capacity-building support to developing countries, with jointly developed guidance and toolkits.
The Platform has made progress on several fronts, including the preparations for the first global conference to be organized under the aegis of the Platform. To be held in February 2018 at the UN headquarters in New York, the Conference will focus on the theme of “Taxation and the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the term of the current membership of the Committee comes to an end in June, the process of selecting the new membership of the Committee is under way.
As mandated by ECOSOC resolution 2004/69 and reconfirmed by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Committee members shall be nominated by Governments and act in their expert capacity. They are to be drawn from the fields of tax policy and tax administration and selected to reflect an adequate equitable geographical distribution, representing different tax systems. The members shall be appointed by the Secretary-General, in consultation with Member States.
My Department, through the Financing for Development Office, will support the Secretary-General in his consultations with Member States and appointment of the new members of the Committee. To kick-start the process, a note verbale will be circulated to all Member States in the course of this month to seek nominations of experts.
Before I conclude my remarks, let me take this opportunity to thank all Member States for supporting DESA in our servicing of the Committee, as well as our capacity development programme. My Department remains committed and stands ready to work with all of you towards continued success.
Thank you for your attention.
File date:
Friday, نيسان/أبريل 7, 2017