"From Tax Competition to Tax Cooperation: An Alternative to the Race to the Bottom"

Tax havens are the ultimate expression of the global corporate tax race to the bottom, and they have largely increased over the years. The United Nations estimates that financing needed for basic infrastructure investment in developing economies is between USD 1 to 1.5 trillion annually. According to a report by Kar and Spanjers, developing economies are estimated to have lost about US$7.8 trillion in illicit financial flows (IFFs) during 2004-2013. Retaining and taxing these resources could contribute to reduce income inequality, strengthen human rights, and boost the implementation of the SDGs. Therefore, it is vital to improve and reform the taxation system and this will require strengthening cooperation at the global, regional and sub-regional levels.

In this context, FES New York, together with the Permanent Missions of Ecuador and Tanzania and the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), co-hosted a public debate with the high-level guests like María Fernanda Espinosa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador and Modest Mero, the Permanent Representative of Tanzania to the UN. Next to personal remarks by each of the debaters on the issue this event also gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions, express views and to continue the conversation at a reception after the debate.