CSOs in Zambia commit to supporting advocacy efforts for international tax reforms by adopting the UN Tax Resolution.
Situation
The OECD estimates that Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) practices - which refer to tax planning strategies used by multinational enterprises that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to avoid paying tax - cost countries around 100-240 billion USD in lost revenue annually, equivalent to 4-10% of global corporate income tax revenue. Developing countries are especially impacted due to their heavy reliance on corporate tax and are more vulnerable to multinational enterprises that exploit gaps in taxation regimes. The OECD has proposed major changes to the international tax law regime to deal with aggressive tax planning. One part of the proposed changes would impose a worldwide minimum corporate tax of 15% on all countries irrespective of whether they agreed to participate in the OECD’s programme.
Tunisian stakeholders were concerned that the proposed OECD changes could have a significant impact on the tax incentives offered by Tunisia and other North African countries, with the aim of attracting investment. The law was drafted largely by countries based in the Global North and they were concerned that, if applied without amendments, it could cause economic harm to countries in the region.
ILP’s Action
ILP delivered a two-day in-person training requested by the Tunisian Observatory of the Economy (TOE) in association with the Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) on the impact of proposed international tax initiatives on the economies of Tunisia and other North African countries. The training included raising awareness of relevant international tax initiatives and assisting in the creation of a programme to advocate for fair and equitable modifications to the proposed changes to international tax law.
Impact
The TOE and TJNA personnel and those trained (including academics, law students economics students, journalists, CSOs, and TOE partners that practise in the relevant field) will use what they have learned in the training to advocate for fair and just changes to the tax laws of Tunisia and other North African countries, taking into account the proposed changes to the international tax law.