India offers $100,000 to UN Tax Fund

India has contributed $ 100,000 to the UN Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Fund). The fund is aimed at helping the developing countries to actively participate in the discussion of tax issues. This was announced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Office for Financing, Development Office. India has also earned the distinction of becoming the first country to make a voluntary contribution to the UN tax fund.

Salient Highlights

The objective of UN Tax Trust Fund is to support the work of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Committee). The funding will be used for supporting the participation of the developing countries’ in the sub-committee meetings of the UN Tax Committee, which are currently unfunded.
The UN and the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters have been calling for the voluntary contributions for the tax fund since its establishment in 2006. The call for the contribution to the tax fund was also made at the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which was adopted at the third International Conference on Financing for Development in 2015. India has become the first country to respond to this call. India has expressed its hope that other countries will also make similar contributions to the UN fund in near future.
The UN expects that the funding will support more developing countries to draw upon the best practice of other bodies, ensuring effective and efficient global tax cooperation norms and rules for all countries and all stakeholders.

Background

The UN Tax Committee is a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC). The UN Tax Committee offers guidance on current issues such as double taxation treaties, transfer pricing, taxation of the extractive industries and taxation of services. It also strives to promote international tax cooperation among national tax authorities. It also makes recommendations on capacity-building and the provision of technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
Addis Ababa Action Agenda provides a global framework for effective mobilisation of resources at the national and international level for sustainable development. Implementation of this agenda also supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It forms an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was unanimously adopted in 2015.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017