Secretary-General Appoints 25 Members to United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters for 2021-2025 Term
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed today a distinguished group of 25 tax experts from around the world to serve as members of the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters for the 2021 to 2025 term.
The United Nations Tax Committee guides countries’ efforts to advance stronger and more forward-looking tax policies adapted to the realities of globalized trade and investment, an increasingly digitalized economy and worsening environmental degradation. It assists countries in their efforts to prevent double or multiple taxation, as well as non-taxation, broaden their tax base, strengthen their tax administrations, and curb international tax evasion and avoidance.
In welcoming the appointments, the President of the Economic and Social Council, Munir Akram (Pakistan) said: “I am delighted to see that such a diverse and capable group of experts has been appointed. I have high expectations for the Committee’s continued success in challenging times, which are nevertheless full of opportunity to stem the tide of tax-related illicit financial flows and shore up developing-country capacities to mobilize and invest domestic resources in their own development.”
The United Nations Tax Committee fosters international cooperation on domestic and international tax matters. It works closely with observers from government, civil society, business and academia, to develop guidance and encourage an inclusive setting of norms and policies.
The new Committee membership brings together tax practitioners with expertise in a wide range of areas, such as double tax treaties, transfer pricing, avoiding and resolving tax disputes, taxation of the extractive industries, taxation of the digital economy, environmental taxation, and value-added taxes. While nominated by their Governments, Committee members serve in their personal capacity.
The members of the United Nations Tax Committee for 2021-2025 are:
The Committee gives special focus to developing countries and their policy environment. The majority of the newly appointed members come from developing countries, and, for the first time since its inception, the Committee has a majority of women experts. “The UN Tax Committee has been impressive, technically unpacking salient tax matters and new areas, such as taxation of the digitalized economy,” said Logan Wort, Executive Director of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF). “ATAF looks forward to engaging with the new membership and extending the same technical support to the new Africa contingent, as we did to their predecessors.”
In welcoming the appointment of the new Committee membership, Márcio F. Verdi, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), outlined “CIAT’s support of the UN Tax Committee’s valuable work to enhance cooperation and strengthen tax administrations from developing countries, including through the exchange of experiences and best practices among countries and multilateral organizations”.
The first meeting of the new membership of the Committee will take place in October 2021, during which the experts will determine the work plan for their term.
Further information on the work of the Committee can be found at www.un.org/development/desa/financing/what-we-do/ECOSOC/tax-committee/tax-committee-home.
Short bios of the Committee members will be available in United Nations document E/2021/9/Add.13.
Media Contacts
Michal Szymanski, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, email: michal.szymanski2@un.org, tel.: +1 718 753 6336.
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