On November 4th, the Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT) hosted a public consultation webinar for the draft PCT Toolkit on Tax Treaty Negotiations. This Toolkit represents a joint effort by the IMF, the OECD, the UN and the World Bank Group to provide capacity-building support to developing countries on tax treaty negotiation. ICTD Research Fellow and International Tax Programme Lead Dr Martin Hearson was invited to speak at the event.
Following a presentation of the Toolkit by Jacques Sasseville of the UN and Nestor Venegas of the OECD, Dr Hearson spoke in the first session titled “Why developing countries need more tax treaty negotiation expertise.” Joining him on the panel were Margaret Moonga Chikuba (Chief Economist of the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Investment in Zambia and Member of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters) and Patricia Brown (Director of the Graduate Program in Taxation and Lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Miami). Watch the recording below (starting at 27:30) to listen to their discussion:
Prior to the webinar, the ICTD submitted comments on the draft Toolkit by Dr Hearson, Professor Sol Picciotto, and Catherine Ngina Mutava. Read their comments here. To see all the comments received on the public discussion draft of the Toolkit, see here.
Thank you to the PCT for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Toolkit and participate in this public consultation.