UN tax committee to design a model blueprint for wealth tax

MUMBAI: A UN model law on wealth tax, which would enable countries across the world to introduce consistent and straight forward legislation is now on the cards.

The task will be undertaken by the UN tax committee (a committee of experts on international cooperation in tax matters), whose members are nominated by, but not formally representative of, the UN-member countries.

The UN guidance will provide countries with a blueprint to implement, giving them both the technical know-how and political backing to tax the wealth of the richest members of society – something that most countries have shied away from under fierce lobbying pressure.

The agreement on the guidance signals a historic shift in global consensus on taxing extreme wealth and is the latest demonstration of the UN’s ability to push the needle on tax reform at a globally inclusive scale.

Alex Cobham, chief executive at the Tax Justice Network said: “This is another victory on tax secured at the UN through the leadership of global South countries, but for the benefit of people everywhere. Enhancing the technical and political space for national governments to pursue progressive tax measures will, over time, allow countries to generate greater revenues to invest in inclusive public services, while at the same time tackling the extreme wealth inequalities that damage all of our societies.”

“We’re starting to see a consistent pattern, where the transparency of tax discussions at the UN leads to much better outcomes. The concurrent process to negotiate a UN framework convention on international tax cooperation offers the world an unprecedented opportunity to lock in that dynamic, and finally to fix the international tax rules that cost us all so much,” said Cobham.

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