General Analysis on Global Taxes
2004
The Landau Report: New International Financial Contributions (December 2004)
This report, commissioned by French President Jacques Chirac, argues that international aid in its current form is volatile, unpredictable and inadequate. International taxes on carbon emissions, financial transactions, arms and the profits of multinational corporations could improve the quality and raise the quantity of aid, and improve progress on the UN Millennium Development Goals. (groupe de travail sur les nouvelles contributions financií¨res internationales)
Press Conference on World Summit for Action Against Hunger (September 20, 2004)
At a summit convened by the leaders of Brazil, France, Chile and Spain, 110 governments adopted the New York Declaration on the Action against Hunger. The declaration supports alternative financing for development, including taxes on financial transactions and arms trade. At a summit press conference, the four state leaders agreed that while introducing such taxes "would undoubtedly be complicated," no government could successfully resist progress with more than 100 signatories of the declaration. (United Nations)
The New York Declaration on Action Against Hunger and Poverty (September 20, 2004)
Signed by 113 countries, the New York Declaration urges the international community "to give further attention to innovative mechanisms of financing," including taxes on currency transactions and arms trade, to raise funds for the Millennium Development Goals. (Action Against Hunger and Poverty)
France, Brazil Lead Charge for New Global Anti-Poverty Campaign (September 20, 2004)
The French president Jacques Chirac, joined by his Brazilian colleague Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, has called for a "radically new" global tax proposal. The two leaders suggest that international taxation represents a plausible way to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. As expected, the US representative directly opposed the proposal, declaring it "undemocratic and impossible to implement." (Tocqueville Connection)
New Sources of Development Finance: Funding the Millennium Development Goals (September 2004)
Without additional external resources, poor countries will not meet the Millennium Development Goals. This summary of a United Nations University-World Institute for Development and Economics Research study considers seven new sources of development financing, including a global lottery as well as global taxes on carbon emissions and currency flows.
Report of the Technical Group on Innovative Financing Mechanisms (September 2004)
The Technical Group on Innovative Financing Mechanisms, sponsored by the Presidents of Brazil, Chile, France, and Spain, proposes a number of new methods to finance development. The group advocates global taxes on financial transactions and arms trade.
The Vanishing Corporate Profits Tax (August 2004)
The global economy allows transnational corporations to minimize their tax obligations. As a result, states suffer diminished tax incomes leading to lower social expenditures. This article suggests two remedies; one within the nation state – the creation of a unitary tax - and the other through a new global tax jurisdiction, which would enable a global development fund. (Transnational Institute)
France, Brazil Relaunch "Lula Fund" to Tax Arms Sales and Fight Poverty (January 30, 2004)
The French and Brazilian presidents have relaunched the idea of global taxes to overcome the global shortage of developmental aid funding. These global taxes would include an imposition on international financial transactions and arms sales. A special fund, dubbed the "Lula Fund," will use the taxes collected to fight hunger and poverty. (Agence France Presse)
2003
Arms and the Taxman (July 1, 2003 )
A tax on the multi-billion dollar global arms trade could fund the fight against world hunger and steer poor countries away from buying weapons, but the rich countries selling the arms remain uninterested. (Guardian)
"Hunger Cannot Wait" (June 5, 2003)
Addressing the G8 summit, Brazilian President Lula da Silva proposed imposing a global tax on the international arms trade in order to end hunger. Lula stressed two goals for developing countries, hungeralleviation and improvements in trade infrastructure, mechanisms, and market access.(Thomas Paine)
2002
EU Globalization Study (February 13, 2002)
In a comprehensive report, the EU Commission weighs the pros and cons of economic globalization. It makes recommendations for ensuring international financial stability as well as for financing development of poor countries. More specifically, the Commission looks at global taxes, programs to safeguard the poor, good governance, and development aid. (EU Commission)
Critics Slam Proposed UN Tax Authority (January 8, 2002)
The debate over the creation of an International Tax Organization will heat the Financing for Development Conference in Monterrey. Opponents, who overstate the purpose of such an organization, do not want to realize the benefits of international cooperation and fairer economic globalization. (Fox News)
1995 - 2001
UN Weighs Proposals for Global Taxes (September 2001)
In a Technical Note, the UN Secretary General debates proposals for an international air transport tax, a carbon tax, a currency transaction tax and other proposals. He gives estimates of potential revenue and highlights problems of enforcement. (UN Document)
International Taxation: The Trajectory of an Idea from Lorimer to Brandt (May 1996)
Myron Frankman shows that the idea of global taxes is not anything new at all – it has been floating around since the late 19th century and was supported by eminent economists like Keynes and Tinbergen. (World Development)
International Funds for Cross-Border Problems (August 1996)
A paper by the Dutch National Advisory Council for Development Cooperation (NAR). It advocates global taxes as a way to protect shared resources and to raise funds for development and other purposes. It also looks at the chances of actually implementing different kinds of taxation, both from a political and an administrative point of view.
