Taxation/private investment and the Sustainable Development Goals - cooperation with the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters (own-initiative opinion)

Key points:

The EESC:

• highlights that taxation policies are fundamental for the SDGs as they determine the economic environment in which investment, employment, and innovation take place while providing the government with revenues for financing public spending. Additional policy alignment and credibility enhancing measures could do much to increase private investment and to close the global investment gap by stimulating capital flows from capital-intense states to developing economies with investment needs.
• would like to emphasise that a successful domestic resource mobilisation requires that (1) tax rulings are made in an open and transparent manner; (2) systems are put in place to ensure the accountability of civil society organisations (CSOs) and parliamentarians; (3) governments should betransparent with taxes and expenditure; and that (4) taxes are visible.
• stresses that the private sector plays an important role in promoting gender equality. Wage policies as well as training and education in the work place are important to promote equal opportunities between genders, in career progression and professional growth. The opportunities linked to female participation in the global economy are huge, and should be a driver of inclusive economic growth, innovation and productivity.
• considers it important that any new rules on how to allocate taxation rights between countries is fair for both small and large consumer countries, as well as for developed and developing countries.
• considers that the work on taxation/private investment and the Sustainable Development Goals by the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters is of the utmost importance for advancing the global dialogue and greatly contributes to peer learning and to exchange of best practices. The EESC stresses that European civil society must play an active role in this crucial international debate.