Renewed push for fair global taxation
The United Nations is currently discussing a new international tax system, with trade unions playing an active role in the negotiations. The historic talks aim to secure fair tax rights, stop illegal financial flows, and ensure that multinational corporations and wealthy individuals pay their share.
Trade unions, including ITUC, Public Services International, and Progressive Policies, are engaging in talks with UN delegates to influence the current international tax talks. They are submitting joint demands with civil society organizations, focusing on ending tax avoidance by multinational corporations.
One of the key issues at hand is the current system that requires a physical presence for app-based companies like Uber to fall outside international tax rules. However, the OECD agreement, which is the basis for this requirement, favors rich countries as taxes are mainly levied at the company's headquarters. This leaves many digital service companies, such as Google, Meta, or AI firms, with numerous loopholes to exploit.
The unions aim to create direct communication channels between trade union representatives from the Global South and delegates from the Global North. This move is to highlight the impact of multinational corporations' tax avoidance on workers, particularly in debt-ridden countries in the Global South.
The unions have three central goals: corporate taxes should be levied where value creation and work take place, economic activities such as accounting should be sufficient for taxation, and disputes should be resolved exclusively between states. These goals do not align with U.S. priorities, as the USA is not participating in the UN talks on international tax cooperation.
The negotiations will continue until 2027, and the unions face challenges, including uncertainty about funding after the withdrawal of the Trump administration and potential U.S. acceptance of an agreement it didn't help negotiate, given its home to the world's largest tech corporations.
Luc Triangle, general secretary of ITUC, stated that the negotiations are a historic opportunity to end the injustice of a global tax system that disadvantages workers. The unions have had bad experiences with mediation procedures between corporations and states in international trade due to the power of private companies. As a result, they demand more transparency in corporate profits and tax payments, particularly for wage negotiations.
In addition, the unions strive for an inclusive process that ensures equal participation of all countries, promoting democratically controlled and human rights-based financial systems. They also advocate for institutionalized roles in economic governance and policy dialogues at national and regional levels, which enhances their influence in implementing fair tax agreements and ensures that workers' and citizens' interests are represented in such frameworks.
References: [1] Trade Unions Call for Democratic Control over Global Finance. (2021, October 29). Retrieved from https://www.ituc-csi.org/en/articles/trade-unions-call-for-democratic-control-over-global-finance
[2] Global Taxes: Trade Unions and Civil Society Demand a Fair and Just System. (2021, October 15). Retrieved from https://www.ituc-csi.org/en/articles/global-taxes-trade-unions-and-civil-society-demand-a-fair-and-just-system
[3] Trade Unions Demand a Seat at the Table for Fair Taxation. (2021, September 24). Retrieved from https://www.ituc-csi.org/en/articles/trade-unions-demand-a-seat-at-the-table-for-fair-taxation
[5] Trade Unions Call for Inclusion in Tax Dialogues. (2021, September 15). Retrieved from https://www.ituc-csi.org/en/articles/trade-unions-call-for-inclusion-in-tax-dialogues
- Trade unions, including ITUC, Public Services International, and Progressive Policies, are engaging in dialogues with UN delegates about business, politics, and general-news topics, such as creating a fair international tax system for multinational corporations and addressing tax avoidance.
- The unions have been advocating for their central goals, which include endorsing transparency in corporate profits and tax payments, ensuring a democratically controlled and human rights-based financial system, and promoting their inclusion in economic governance and policy dialogues, all aimed at improving the lives of workers and citizens.
