Event description
Exchange of information is a crucial pillar of international tax cooperation and an important area for future international tax governance under the UN tax convention. The current negotiations continue to debate how this new governance regime should relate to pre-existing instruments, standards, and norms, and the extent to which it should be grounded in the same basic rules that underpin the current system.
This debate is particularly significant given that, in the most recent publicly available draft of the Convention, language from existing standards was directly incorporated into the text. This includes provisions on confidentiality and the principle of “foreseeable relevance,” under which countries are required to exchange tax information only if it is foreseeably relevant to the enforcement of tax laws in the requesting country. Such standard currently appears in a bracketed form, and during negotiations some delegates noted that it does not adequately meet the needs of developing countries and has been applied in a rigid way to prevent information exchange at the fullest extent possible.
This debate reminds us that the UN tax convention is an opportunity to assess existing frameworks, examine their strengths and limitations, and identify areas for improvement. While building on what already exists may be valuable, the mere existence of an institution does not justify its direct transposition into the UN tax convention without careful consideration of its potential shortcomings. This panel will evaluate current instruments and frameworks, their merits, and their limitations in order to contribute to the development of an exchange of information regime that is inclusive and universal.
Speakers
Ms. Verónica Grondona, Senior Advisor, ICRICT
Dr. Martin Hearson, Research Fellow at IDS, Research Director of the ICTD and the International Tax programme lead
Mr. Emmanuel Eze, ATAF Senior Policy Advisor to the African Union
Ms. Wanjiru Kiarie, Kenya Revenue Authority
Moderator
Bob Michel, Senior Comparative Policy and Legal Analyst, Tax Justice Network