The ‘Most Favoured Nation’ principle In international economic relations, the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle is the bedrock of non-discriminatory trade policy. The underlying principle is, if a country extends favourable treatment to another country on a particular subject under a given agreement, it must treat other parties to the agreement equally regarding that subject. Along similar lines, the MFN clause in tax treaties…
In June 2021, eight Senegalese tax agents based in the fiscal centre of Pikine, the country’s second largest city, generated over 500 detailed property tax information sheets in just four weeks. The information sheets contained GIS coordinates, cadastral identifiers, property characteristics, rental value, owner identification details and even pictures. These information sheets starkly contrast with…
Across Nigeria, a journey through rural communities and interaction with community members will expose you to the prevalence of self-financed and managed community development projects. The benefits of those projects completed through informal taxation to the people of Nigeria cannot be overemphasised, though many scholars and tax administrators are not aware or pay little attention…
As the G20 Environment Ministers meet today, one of the key issues they need to consider is whether to get serious about fossil fuel subsidy reform. As a report published on June 19 by Bloomberg NEF and Bloomberg Philantropies points out, the G20 countries have provided more than $3.3tn (£2.4tn) in subsidies for fossil fuels…
Property taxes offer a significant potential for developing cities in Africa, which crucially need revenues to fund local public services and sustainable urban planning. In 2014, Senegal adopted its current development plan, “Plan Senegal Émergent”, with the main goal of bringing the country to an emerging economy status by 2035, with the mobilisation of property…
On June 30th to July 1st, the 139 countries that are members of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS will meet online to discuss the “two pillar approach” they have been developing to reform the taxation of multinational business. The recent G7 agreement on reallocating some taxing rights for the “largest and most profitable” multinational companies…
This weekend, the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers completed a “historic global tax agreement,” a “seismic” and “landmark deal,” that will create an international tax system “fit for the 21st century.” Or so, at least, is the narrative presented by some of the G7 folk (most prominently UK chancellor Rishi Sunak), which has been…
In recent years, the legalisation of cannabis – initially for medical use, and increasingly for recreational use – has become a common policy talking point. But can legalised cannabis production become a new revenue source for low and middle-income countries? Canada and a range of states in the US have made headlines from legalisation initiatives…
For more than 30 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated May 31 as World No Tobacco Day, which aims to inform the public of the danger of using tobacco, the leading preventable cause of death in the world. A looming threat Africa is vulnerable to the tobacco industry. While global smoking rates have…
Reforming global corporate taxation Proposals from the Biden administration have injected new life into the international process to reform the taxation of multinational enterprises (MNEs), but achieving a fair and effective outcome remains problematic. Greater attention must be paid to the perspective of lower-income countries and proposals they have made for more comprehensive reforms that…
While many economists and politicians have begun to talk seriously about using wealth taxes to raise government revenue and curb rising inequality, one in every four people globally are already subject to a similar taxation model called Zakat. In the form of Zakat, Muslims around the world who possess wealth over a particular threshold are…
The Biden Administration’s proposal On March 31, the Biden Administration proposed, as part of its “Made in America” tax proposals, a 21% minimum tax on affiliates of US-owned multinationals operating in countries around the world. Under the proposal, if a US-owned company operating in a foreign jurisdiction were to succeed, perhaps through avoidance devices or…
