« Ideas Bank Idea title   Global Tax Network ID   10 Theme(s)   International Finance Proposal summary     Staff at the IMF, OECD and World Bank recently proposed international dialogue on taxation to increase cooperation on tax matters among governments and international organizations, share good practices and pursue common objectives in improving the efficient functioning of national tax systems.   Implementing institutions International Financial Institutions; National financial institutions; OECD countries; UN Organizations   Origin World Bank/IMF/OECD, August 2001   Related ideas International Tax Organization   Further info. sources - text Developing the International Dialogue on Taxation: (World Bank March 2002)   Further info. sources - URLs - Developing the International Dialogue on Taxation   Policy Brief   Problem statement Globalization places constraints on the ability of national governments to set and raise taxes. Developing countries need to raise the necessary revenues to finance the services, physical and social infrastructure that will enable them to move out of poverty. This requires well-designed tax policies that are translated into clear legislation and are administratively feasible. A number of taxation issues also have international dimensions that require coordination with other tax authorities. These include the taxation of multinational enterprises, the impact of international tax competition and cross-border VAT and excise issues.   Analysis This proposal sets out a strategy for encouraging international dialogue to develop greater coherence between relevant international organizations without creating a new institution. Parties concerned include the IMF and World Bank, the Committee of Fiscal Affairs of the OECD, the UN Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matter and the Committee of International Organizations on Tax Administration. All countries, together with regional tax organizations and regional development banks, would be welcome to participate with no preconditions.The result would be a Global Tax Network The advantage of enhancing dialogue, rather than creating a new organization, is that there would be greater flexibility. While the structure and function of the Global Tax Network would take shape over time, a number of objectives have been identified: i) fostering dialogue among governments and international organizations; ii) sharing good practices and the pursuit of common objectives in improving the functioning of national tax systems; and iii) giving all countries input into the discussion of tax administration and policy issues at an international level. Such a network would facilitate the coordination of technical assistance and avoid duplication of effort in respect of existing activities. The proposed steering Group would include representatives of the IMF, OECD, the World Bank, and the UN. One regional tax administration organization and one regional development bank would be invited to serve, on a rotating basis, as observers to the Steering Group. The Steering Group would arrange periodic meetings of tax policy and administration experts,to discuss issues and activities of common interest. The activities of the Global Tax Network may alter over time as participating countries and organizations address new concerns. Countries would at all times retain fiscal sovereignty.   Significance of Policy Proposal Relations would be improved between the IMF, World Bank and the OECD and national tax authorities through the development of an international tax network.   Critique Support from civil society will be weak as the organizations in question, notably the IMF and World Bank, have been under much criticism recently. Questions also arise on the proposed membership of the Steering Group and its accounability.   Time Line and further development of proposal Launched in August 2001, the proposal for a Global Tax Network was seen as an alternative to an International Tax Organization. Proponents of the Global Tax Network emphasize that it is consistent with the revised draft outcome of the 2002 UN Conference on Financing for Development, which stressed the importance of strengthening the revenue-raising capacity of developing countries, and the central role of international organizations in supporting these efforts.   Keywords   Fiscal Policy (view other ideas related to Fiscal Policy...) International Cooperation (view other ideas related to International Cooperation...) Tax policy (view other ideas related to Tax policy...)   Please send any comments or suggestions to Zydre Pember			Ideas Bank   WCSDG home   Ideas Bank home   search   list all alphabetically   list all by theme   printer-friendly version

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