A majority of UN members have endorsed an Africa-led initiative to bring international tax cooperation to the United Nations.
For years, numerous nations have complained bitterly about their inability to influence discussions on global tax cooperation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where the rules that guide cross-border taxation are usually discussed.
After years of yearning for a much-needed change, 125 mostly developing countries recently endorsed a draft UN resolution proposed by Nigeria asking for a framework convention on international tax cooperation.
UN Endorses Africa-Led Initiative For International Tax Co-Operation: Countries in Support and More
These countries included nations such as Nigeria, Ghana, China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
Also, approximately 48 mostly developed countries, which included Britain, Germany, Japan, and the United States opposed the measure while nine countries, including OECD members Iceland, Mexico, Norway, and Turkey sat on the fence.
According to the African Union (AU), the vote would help provide better access to the required financial resources.
The head of OECD, Mathias Cormann, mentioned how proud the group is of its history of reaching unanimity-based solutions on international tax cooperation.
For many years, the Paris-based policy forum has harmonized among its 38 mostly developed country members and other countries on international tax issues ranging from rules for intragroup transfer pricing to how tax authorities can share bank account information.