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Policy
UN tax convention
For the past century, global tax rules have been set by a small club of rich countries at the OECD, some of which rank as the world’s most harmful tax havens. The outcome is tax rules that fail to stop, and sometimes even encourage, tax injustice.
Establishing a UN tax convention will give all countries a say on global tax rules through a democratic, inclusive intergovernmental body under the UN, and will introduce global tax rules that must adhere to the UN’s human rights principles.
Summary
Positions – where countries stand
Progress is tracked by evaluating countries' stances on the policy.
More insights
Most frequent position by region
Data coverage
215
countries and territories
2023
data collection started
Global median position
Latest event
The Australian government brings forward legislation to require full, public country by country reporting on the GRI standard.
Country positions
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About the policy
UN tax convention
A UN tax convention is an international agreement that could hold countries to equitable, democratic and legally binding standards on corporate tax, financial transparency and tax justice.
UN conventions, like the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture, are international treaties to which countries can sign up and ratify to become bound to the treaty's provisions in international law.
For the past sixty years, global tax rules have been set by the OECD, a small club of rich countries, some of which rank as the world’s most harmful tax havens. This has brought about a global tax system that causes countries around the world to lose nearly half a trillion in tax every year – including those same rich countries themselves. Analysis shows that OECD countries are responsible for enabling three-fourths of these tax losses. While the OECD has acknowledged that current international tax rules are not working, its recent efforts to deliver meaningful reform have failed under pressure from lobbyists in powerful member countries.
Global Progress timeline
2003
Tax Justice Network proposes world’s first draft international accounting standard for public country by country reporting.
2013
G8 group of countries call on the OECD to develop a common template for country by country reporting to tax authorities by major multinational enterprises.
2013
The EU introduces two partial standards for public reporting, the EU Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) for the financial sector and the EU Accounting Directive for the extractives sector.
2015
After years of resistance, the OECD adopts a watered-down version of country by country reporting in its BEPS framework, making the process a global standard for the first time - but keeping the data private.
2019
Global business standard setter GRI establishes its first standard for public country by country reporting with support from global investors, civil society and tax experts.
2021
The EU agrees to require publication of companies' OECD country by country reporting data for each member state from 2023 – but not yet for every other country.
2023
The Australian government brings forward legislation to require full, public country by country reporting on the GRI standard.
The future
Countries must move beyond the OECD’s watered-down standard and adopt public country by country reporting laws that meet the GRI’s more robust standard.
About the data
Global experts, crowdsourcing power
The data on the Tax Justice Policy Tracker is regularly collected and verified by researchers and experts at the Tax Justice Network and from the wider global tax justice movement.
Crowdsourcing support from the public helps us respond faster to regulatory changes. If you think an answer to a question on the tracker should be updated with new data, please contact us.
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