Driving Effective Partnerships and Dialogue in International Tax to Achieve the SDGs

Spotlight Session #9

at the Effective Development Co-operation Summit hosted by
the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation

Driving Effective Partnerships and Dialogue
in International Tax to Achieve the SDGs

14 December 2022 at 08:00-09:30 CET | Geneva, Switzerland

**Hybrid Event (in-person and webinar)**

Predictable, fair and sufficient domestic public revenues are the bedrock of country-owned sustainable development pathways. Supporting countries’ tax capacity yields hundred-fold returns in mobilised tax revenue which contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This session will make the case for sustained investments in effective multi-stakeholder approaches to strengthen countries’ tax systems as a critical enabler to achieve the SDGs.

Context

Governments around the world depend on taxation as a key financing source for achieving their SDGs. In addition to generating revenues, tax policies have the potential to incentivise desired behaviours, promote sustainable development and steer investments towards SDG-relevant areas. As countries emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, taxes can help countries “build back better” by implementing tax reforms to foster more sustainable and just societies in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as to promote transparent, accountable, effective and fair government.

The Mexico High Level Meeting Communiqué of the GPEDC’s first High-Level Meeting in Mexico in 2014 recognized the critical challenge of ensuring the adequate mobilization of public and private domestic resources to support development, as underlined in the Monterrey Consensus. Adequate mobilization of government revenues is required for direct financing and for leveraging private funds for investments in public services and social protection, institutional and human development, basic infrastructure, and strong and inclusive economic growth. One limiting factor in the ability of governments to raise tax revenues is lack of capacity. Supporting countries’ tax capacity yields hundred-fold returns in mobilised tax revenue which contribute to SDG achievement.

Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) was launched in 2015 to strengthen developing countries' audit capacity and multinationals' compliance worldwide. TIWB focuses on promoting hands-on assistance by sending experts to build audit and audit-related skills pertaining to specific international tax matters and the development of general audit skills within developing tax administrations. Experts work together with tax auditors from Host Administrations on real audit cases, sharing tax audit knowledge and skills.

TIWB is attracting great interest as an excellent example of how effective 21^st century development assistance should be designed and delivered. It supports participating countries’ sustainable development and recovery efforts in several ways, for example by:

Enhancing domestic resource mobilisation (DRM), which in turn increases funding available for SDG-relevant projects and reduces dependence on external development finance prone to exogenous shocks;
Promoting efficient implementation of tax legislation to reduce tax avoidance and illicit financial flows (IFFs), thereby contributing to the sustainability of the global financial system; and
Strengthening the detection of tax crime and reinforcing accountability for violations, thereby improving tax morale and enhancing the social contract between citizens and the state.

Through TIWB, the OECD and UNDP combine their respective strengths and expertise to best assist developing country tax administrations with hands-on support to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation. The TIWB initiative aligns with, complements and maximises the impact of national and international strategies for tax and development to promote fairer and efficient tax systems around the world.

Objectives

Make the case for sustained investments in effective multi-stakeholder approaches to strengthen countries’ tax systems as a critical enabler to achieve the SDGs;
Discuss how to step-up and support development co-operation, based on sharing good practices and dialogue, so that it can boost tax collection and cut illicit financial flows in developing countries; and
Demonstrate the value of TIWB’s unique multi-stakeholder co-operation on tax as an effective approach to tackle tax avoidance through greater country ownership and a focus on results.

Interpretation into English, French and Spanish was provided. The draft agenda for the 2022 Effective Development Co-operation Summit can be found here.

This TIWB event was open to the public.

Watch the REPLAY

Agenda

This session made the case for sustained investments in effective multi-stakeholder approaches to strengthen countries’ tax systems as a critical enabler to achieve the SDGs. A panel of ministers and senior officials discussed the topic.

Panellists

Mr. Ben Dickinson - Head of Global Relations and Development Division, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Ms. Titta Maja - Director General for Development Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland
Dr. Mthuli Ncube - Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Zimbabwe
Mr. John Christensen - Co-founder and former Director of the Tax Justice Network International Secretariat
H.E. John Banza Lunda - Member of Parliament and Chair of the Parliament's Parliamentary Network for the SDGs, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Moderator: Ms. Ulrika Modéer - United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, United Nations Development Programme

FURTHER INFORMATION

Driving Effective Partnerships and Dialogue in International Tax to Achieve the SDGs

Spotlight Session #9

at the Effective Development Co-operation Summit hosted bythe Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation