International Tax Reform Briefing Note

This briefing note by the Institute for Economic Justice critiques the OECD's two-pillar tax framework for its lack of transparency and failure to recover significant revenue lost to tax abuse, while advocating for the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and South Africa's leadership in the G20 to advance a more equitable global tax system.

• Multinational enterprises and wealthy individuals cause annual tax losses exceeding $400 billion, which disproportionately affects lower-income countries that lose an average of 36% of their public health budgets to cross-border tax abuse.
• The OECD's two-pillar solution is viewed as inadequate because it was negotiated primarily by high-income countries, lacks transparency, and provides minimal revenue gains compared to total losses. The framework benefits high-income countries where MNE headquarters are located, limits the ability of other countries to tax digital services, and applies a 15% minimum tax rate that is below global averages.
• The UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation is presented as a democratic alternative allowing all 193 UN member states to negotiate rules equally, with initial focuses on dispute resolution and digital taxation. South Africa, as G20 President in 2025, is urged to use its position to build consensus for this Convention, collaborate with civil society, and promote global minimum standards for taxing the super-rich, following Brazil's 2024 G20 leadership.

APA

iej_admin (2025). International Tax Reform Briefing Note. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/briefing-note/from-the-oecd-to-the-un-international-tax-reform-and-the-role-of-south-africa-in-the-g20/

Chicago

iej_admin. International Tax Reform Briefing Note. Institute for Economic Justice, 2025. https://iej.org.za/resource/briefing-note/from-the-oecd-to-the-un-international-tax-reform-and-the-role-of-south-africa-in-the-g20/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=iej_admin |title=International Tax Reform Briefing Note |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=2 June 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/briefing-note/from-the-oecd-to-the-un-international-tax-reform-and-the-role-of-south-africa-in-the-g20/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{iejadmin2025international, author = {iej\_admin}, title = {{International Tax Reform Briefing Note}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/briefing-note/from-the-oecd-to-the-un-international-tax-reform-and-the-role-of-south-africa-in-the-g20/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }