Event description
This event is hosted in partnership with The Global Alliance of Tax Justice
Reforms of the international governance of tax and of financial regulation are long overdue. The status quo represents an obstacle to progressive taxation and effective democracy in countries at all income levels, resulting in deep inequalities within and between countries. The upcoming UN General Assembly is likely to be characterised by high-level discussions of a UN tax convention that could represent the biggest step forward for a century. This follows the watershed declaration of finance ministers from more than 50 countries at the Economic Commission for Africa in May 2022, calling for an immediate start to negotiations. As one draft proposal of the Convention demonstrates, it has the potential to set ambitious standards for financial transparency and cooperation, ending much of the scope for illicit financial flows, and creating a genuinely inclusive, intergovernmental tax body to deliver on the ambition of a coherent set of international rules.
With the Africa Group leading the way at the UN, attention is turning to other regions to assess which countries will be champions. This event will showcase the perspectives of high-level politicians from two key countries in other regions, Colombia and Norway. This will be preceded by a panel with leading civil society actors in the move towards a UN convention, from Tax Justice Network Africa, Eurodad and the Global Alliance for Tax Justice. What can the convention deliver? When, realistically, could negotiations begin – and how quickly could they deliver?
This event is part of a series of online public events the Tax Justice Network is hosting that will discuss critical opportunities in 2022 to meet pressing global urgencies with global tax progress. The event series will bring together high-level policymakers, leading economists and renowned campaigners to discuss the most pivotal tax justice policy developments of 2022, how tax justice policies can be implemented and who should lead reform of the global tax system. Learn more about Tax Justice Series 2022 here.
Speakers
Alvin Mosioma is the founding Executive Director of Tax Justice Network-Africa.
Tove joined Eurodad in March 2013 as Senior Policy Analyst. She now leads the work on tax and transparency, and carries out coordination, advocacy, communications work as well as research and analysis. Tove is one of two elected representatives for Tax Justice Europe in the coordinating committee of the Global Alliance for Tax Justice. Before joining Eurodad Tove worked with Greenpeace International as coordinator for climate policy. She’s also been chair of the Danish 92 Group for over 5 years and head of the Danish NGO Forests of the World for 3 years. Tove speaks Danish, Swedish and English.
Prior to his current work at GATJ, Dereje has served as the founding chair of TJNA (2008-2016) and GATJ (2014-18), as well as Senior Economic Justice Advisor at Christian Aid. Prior to that he was Christian Aid’s Country Manager for East Africa for 15 years. Before joining the CSO sector, he worked as a Lecturer at the Free University Berlin from 1987-98. He holds an MA in Development Studies and PhD in Economics from the same university.
Alex Cobham is an economist and chief executive of the Tax Justice Network. He is also a founding member of the steering group of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, and of the technical advisory group for the Fair Tax Mark. His work focuses on illicit financial flows, effective taxation for development, and inequality. He has been a researcher at Oxford University, Christian Aid, Save the Children, and the Center for Global Development, and has consulted widely, including for UNCTAD, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, DFID, and the World Bank. Recent publications include The Uncounted (Polity Press, 2019); and Estimating Illicit Financial Flows (OUP, 2020, with Petr Janský).
