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International Tax

Low-income countries are more dependent on corporate income tax revenue than richer countries, and at the same time, disproportionately affected by multinational tax avoidance. Our research on this theme investigates ways in which developing countries can protect their tax bases, including through simplified transfer pricing methods and improved tax treaty policies. It also examines the challenges and opportunities developing countries face from their participation in international tax negotiations.

  • UN Tax Convention – check out our latest papers and commentary

Research lead: Dr Martin Hearson

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News and events

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Event
Art card of the event, bearing the title that reads "Four definitions to change the world: Foreseeable relevance", along with details of the webinar superimposed on a gradient green background. At the The bottom half features headshots of five speakers.
29 May 2026
Webinar: Four definitions to change the world webinar series – Foreseeable relevance

The panel will evaluate current instruments and frameworks, their merits, and their limitations in order to contribute to the development of an exchange of information regime that is inclusive and universal. …

News
Logo of the United Nations embossed on a glass wall in the UN Headquarters in New York City
March 2026
Tax treaties in spotlight as UN Tax Convention negotiations deepen

When member-states convene in New York this August for the fifth substantive session on the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UN Tax Convention), negotiators will navigate increasingly technical and politically contested questions. Among them is how the new Convention will relate to the bilateral tax treaties already in force around the world….

Event
Globe showing the African continent on top of a pile of international currencies.
17 March 2026
Webinar: Protocol 1 in focus – progress and the way forward

This webinar will give you a clear picture of where things stand and what comes next on the UN Tax Convention Protocol 1 on cross-border services taxation….

Featured Publications

Working Paper

Global Rules, Local Realities: Lessons from the Global South on International Tax Standards

June 2026
Martin Hearson, Frederik Heitmüller & Florian Dierich
Working Paper

Scenarios for Negotiating a UN Framework Convention on International Tax

January 2025
Frederik Heitmüller
Partner Publication

A Fairer Global Tax Architecture

September 2024
Martin Hearson, Frederik Heitmüller, Mbakiso Magwape & Suranjali Tandon
See all Related Publications

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Related blogs

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The UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, flanked by a row of flags of different countries.
November 2025|
Blog

A new era or business as usual? Why the UN Expert Committee on Tax is still relevant

by Florian Dierich

The Committee’s most prominent contribution is the UN Model Tax Convention, which provides model language for the negotiation of bilateral tax treaties. While originally based on the OECD Model, it has increasingly diverged to better reflect the interests of capital-importing states, most notably in its stronger source-based taxing rights….

Empty hall of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York.
November 2025|
Blog

UN Tax Convention Reading List Part 3: Protocol 2 – Dispute Resolution and Prevention

by Florian Dierich & Frederik Heitmüller

In Part 3 of our UN Tax Convention reading list, we bring together key research and analysis on dispute prevention and resolution….

A photo of the UN Headquarters in New York with flags of several countries flying high.
October 2025|
Blog

UN Tax Convention Negotiations: Where are we at and where are we headed?

by Frederik Heitmüller & Florian Dierich

In preparation for the Nairobi session, two documents were shared for discussion: a Framework Convention Template prepared by the Co-lead of Workstream 1, which contains draft language for some of the commitments, and a Co-Leads’ Concept Note on Ideas for Potential Solutions for the protocol on dispute resolution and prevention. The protocol on Cross-border services is not on the agenda for Nairobi, but discussions are continuing in the Workstream….

A city landscape superimposed by a transluscent globe with currency symbols around it.
October 2025|
Blog

UN Tax Convention reading list part 2: Protocol 1 – Taxation of cross-border services

by Florian Dierich & Frederik Heitmüller

The negotiations for Protocol 1 present a genuine opportunity to revisit how cross-border services are taxed. But, as we explored in our recent policy brief, this is not without difficult trade-offs involving legal form, tax base, thresholds, nexus rules, and treaty interaction….

Large convening hall with the UN logo at the front
September 2025|
Blog

UN Tax Convention reading list part 1: The UN process and institutional context

by Florian Dierich & Frederik Heitmüller

We have put together this reading list to help navigate the growing literature on the UN Tax Convention, which is thematically divided into three parts: this first part is on the UN process and institutional context….

In action shot of a busy street near a market in Bohicon, Benin, West Africa with people on motorbikes or walking.
August 2025|
Blog

How WAEMU is reshaping tax harmonisation policy across west Africa

by Raïssatou Joëlle Traore

Since its creation in 1994, WAEMU has pursued a core strategy of bringing member states’ tax systems closer together. Has it succeeded?…

Research Projects

Completed Project

The Interaction of Different Tax Systems in the Taxation of Cross-border Services

Completed Project

India in International Tax Negotiations

Completed Project

Comparative Perspectives on International Tax from the Global South

Current Project

Tax harmonisation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union

Raissatou Joelle Traore
Completed Project

An Empirical Study for the Case for the Introduction of Advance Pricing Agreements in Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries

Prisca Musibi & Mary Ongore
Current Project

The Impact of Double Tax Avoidance Treaties on Foreign Direct Investment in Nepal

Bishal Chalise
See all Related Projects
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1273 606261
International Centre for Tax and Development, Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Brighton, BN1 9RE, United Kingdom
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