Financing for Development negotiations near to collapse as rich countries block Global Tax Body

Rich country governments led by the US, UK and Japan are jeopardising the entire FfD agreement as they refuse to consider an inter-governmental tax body on tax

Wednesday July 15 2015

Negotiations are on the brink of collapse as rich countries refuse to consider an inter-governmental body on tax and threaten to reopen the entire FfD text.

G77 countries, many of which lose billions of dollars every year through tax dodging, are demanding a seat at the table when decisions about global tax rules are made. But members of the OECD, the body consisting of 34 countries that currently decide on tax rules, want to keep the status quo.

“A few powerful countries are ready to jeopardise the whole Financing for Development agenda just because they don’t want developing countries to have any say on global tax rules,” said Tove Maria Ryding, Tax Justice Coordinator at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad). “Backroom threats and underhand tactics have not worked so far, the G77 have not given up on their demand for a democratic decision-making body.”

CSO representatives from Africa, Latin America and Europe will hold a press conference today at 5.30pm Addis Ababa time, just one hour ahead of the Main Committee meeting, which will take place at 6.30pm.

Speakers:
Gyekye Tanoh, Head of the Political Economy Unit, Third World Network- Africa
Tove Maria Ryding, Tax Justice Coordinator, European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad).
Marina Durano, Associate Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN).
Moderator: Stefano Prato, Society for International Development (SID)

Media contacts:
Julia Ravenscroft, Eurodad, jravenscroft@eurodad.org, +251 (0) 9 65 286 523
Christian Freymeyer, FTC, cfreymeyer@financialtransparency.org, +1 410 490 6850.

Venue: Large Briefing Room, First Floor, ECA Conference Centre
Live link: http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/ffd3/watch/press-briefing-room.html
Organiser: Addis Ababa SCO FfD Group in coordination with the Women’s Working Group