ICTD brief on UN tax negotiations cited in Tax Notes report
Following the first round of substance negotiations for a new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UN Tax Convention), Tax Notes featured extensively ICTD Policy Brief 19, on the trade-offs surrounding Protocol 1.
The article also quoted ICTD Associate Postdoctoral Fellow Frederik Heitmüller, who attended the first week of the sessions earlier this month, saying in part: “Delegates were still divided on the scope of the protocol and which services would be covered.”
Read the full article here and more about our work on the UN Tax Convention here.
Vanessa van den Boogaard pens piece on Trump’s remittance tax for Foreign Policy
ICTD Research Fellow Vanessa van den Boogaard published an op-ed on the likely consequences of the US’s recently introduced 1 per cent tax on cash-based remittances. The piece, co-authored with Maastricht University’s Ana Isabel López García, argues in part: “The tax will have devastating and destabilising effects on the world’s poorest countries — many of which have already been severely impacted by the Trump administration’s drastic aid cuts.”
Giulia Mascagni guests on Voice of Islam
ICTD Executive Director Giulia Mascagni was interviewed on Voice of Islam’s Drive Time show, during which she weigned in on the impact of global aid cuts on development financing, as well as the role of domestic resource mobilisation in this context. Listen to the July 7 episode (9:30mins onwards) here.
Tax Expenditures coalition co-founded by ICTD features in TaxNotes report
The Coalition for Tax Expenditure Reform, launched under the Sevilla Platform for Action by ICTD and four other global research and policy institutes, was cited in the TaxNotes wrap story on the 4th Financing for Development Conference. The article outlined relevant tax initiatives that came out of the UN summit.
FfD4: Giulia Mascagni shares insights on ‘tax era of development’ at Casa Devex
At Day 1 of the Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) in Seville, ICTD Executive Director Giulia Mascagni was interviewed at Casa Devex about how domestic resource mobilisation, and taxation in particular, features centrally in the Compromiso de Sevilla. Watch the full interview here or the read the comprehensive article here.
Devex likewise mentioned the Coalition on Tax Expenditure Reform, of which ICTD is part, in another article outlining the events of the summit’s second day.
Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, and external author Umair Javed pen op-ed on support for wealth taxes in Pakistan
ICTD Research Fellows Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard, co-leads of the Centre’s Informality and Taxation programme, along with Umair Javed, have published an op-ed in the Dawn on public-support for wealth taxes in Pakistan.
Giovanni Occhiali quoted in Forbes article
ICTD Research Fellow Giovanni Occhiali shared his insights in a Forbes article, entitled “Can Improving Taxation in Africa Help Meet Health Needs?“, on the risks and opportunites African countries face in terms of improving current tax systems to address development demands, amidst “waning foreign assistance around the world”. “‘[T]here is a risk that governments facing immediate cuts … might be incentivised to take short-term action that might prove counterpoductive in the long term,'” he said in part.
Tax Notes quotes Rhiannon McCluskey on value of DRM in development financing
ICTD policy consultant Rhiannon McCluskey was quoted in a Tax Notes article on the critical role domestic resource mobilisation, specifically taxation, plays as countries prepare to head to the Fourth Financing for Development (FfD4) conference in Seville at the end of June. McCluskey said as countries face growing fiscal pressure, given dramatic cuts to aid budgets, among others, they will tend to make quick decisions on tax policy. She cautioned, however, that “when these are not informed by good evidence, they can really backfire.”
Read more of ICTD’s work around FfD4 here.
Adrienne Lees pens piece on tax compliance costs for Ugandan firms for The Conversation Africa
ICTD Doctoral Fellow Adrienne Lees published a blog on the cost of tax compliance for small and medium-sized enterprises in Uganda, in the context of the country’s “increasingly complex tax system”.
“The complexity of Uganda’s tax system makes for a time-consuming tax filing process, compounded by low taxpayer knowledge and high levels of distrust in teh Uganda Revenue Authority. The time, money, and effort incurred by taxpayers tomeet their tax obligations adds to their total tax burdens,” she argues. Read the full article here.
The blog was also carried by at least three local and regional outlets, including Uganda Business News, AllAfrica, and The Independent.
Martin Hearson weighs in on 15% global tax deal in The Conversation Weekly podcast
ICTD Research Director Martin Hearson, who also leads the Centre’s International Tax programme, was interviewed in a recent episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast about the October 2021 global tax deal that requires large multinational companies to pay at least 15% in corporate tax.
Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, and Umair Javed pen op-ed on Zakat work
ICTD Research Fellows Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard, co-leads of the Centre’s Tax and Informality Work, along with Umair Javed, pen an op-ed on the Dawn on their work on Zakat and Pakistan.
ICTD-RRA paper cited in The New Times
The New Times, a leading media outlet in Rwanda, cited a joint reflection paper by ICTD and the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), originally published in 2021, in a report on how the country intends to implement a tax on digital services. Read the article here.