HLPF Side Event: Reforming the Global Tax System

July 17, 2024 | New York City

So far, the track record for implementing the 2030 Agenda has been disastrous: As things stand, it will only be possible to achieve 16 % of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 (see Sustainable Development Report). In addition to a lack of political will, many governments in countries around the world are missing the financial resources required for effective implementation. The debt crisis is contributing to this significantly, as well as unjust international tax policy. Tax avoidance and profit shifting by corporations reduce revenues for nations just as much as tax evasion and illicit cross-border financial flows. As a result, important tools are missing for public investments. Insufficient financial transparency and accountability, as well as the granting of generous tax reliefs, constitute a key part of the problem.

Especially in countries of the Global South, this results in significant resources being lost, which could otherwise be used to achieve the SDGs. A reform of the international tax system would therefore be an important lever to free up funds for financing the 2030 Agenda and thus help to reduce global inequalities. A UN tax convention represents the long overdue next step in this direction.

This side event to the 2024 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), co-hosted by the German NGO Forum on Environment and Development, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, and the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung in New York, featured keynote remarks by the Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Bärbel Kofler, on the importance of global tax reform to reduce inequalities and Germany’s role in promoting tax justice. Moreover, the event featured the presentation of a recently published Civil Society position paper. During the panel discussion, speakers from different backgrounds discussed the necessary changes in the global tax system and shed light on which role Germany (and other countries from the Global North) can and should play.

Welcome:

• Michael Bröning, Executive Director, FES New York

Keynote:

• H.E. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

Presentation of Civil Society Position Paper:

• Ingo Ritz, Director, Global Call to Action Against Poverty

Panel Discussion:

• H.E. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
• Mahinour ElBadrawi, Program Director, Center for Economicand Social Rights
• Mercy Nabwire, National Treasurer, Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KPMDU)
• Deepak Xavier, Head of Inequalities, Oxfam International

Moderator:

• Eileen Roth, Coordinator, Sustainable Development Policy, German NGO Forum on Environment and Development