Proposal for UN convention on tax

The European network on debt and development (Eurodad) and the Global alliance for tax justice have launched a proposal for a United Nations convention on tax which would aim to ensure tax systems are ‘transparent, equitable and effective’.

The Global reporting initiative (GRI) reports that the proposal would require all signatories to implement legislation requiring MNEs to publish country-by-country tax reports based on the requirements in the GRI Standard for public reporting on tax (GRI 207).

Peter Paul van de Wijs, GRI chief external affairs officer, said: ‘The launch of the GRI Tax Standard was a game-changer, as for the first time there was a globally agreed position on what tax transparency looks like. As demonstrated by recent developments from the OECD and EU, we are seeing a shift towards acknowledgement that tax is a sustainability issue, with stakeholders pressing for transparency.’