Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
I am honoured to deliver these closing remarks at the conclusion of the first two sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee.
The Chair rightly described this process as ¡°ambitious and fast-moving.¡± In these inaugural sessions, you have proven that description is accurate.
You have laid the vital groundwork in shaping a new era of global tax cooperation¡ªone that is fully inclusive, responsive to a changing world, and advancing sustainable development for all Member States.
During the past two weeks, your deliberations have been intensive and substantive. You have shared diverse perspectives on the three topics discussed: the framework convention and the two early protocols.
The framework convention will provide the foundation for building new paradigm for global cooperation in tax. In particular, discussions of the fair allocation of taxing rights showed a lot of common ground, although differences remain and hard work is required to bridge different perspectives.
The discussion of the protocol on services focused on issues that affect many Member States, in particular digital services. There was significant agreement on a key point¡ªthat the current international tax rules do not deal adequately with new business models. The difficult discussions, which began this week, are on forging new rules that will be ¡°future proof. That means they are designed to cover new types of services in the foreseeable future.
The prevention and resolution of tax disputes was chosen as the subject of the second early protocol. This will pave the way for more effective and fair systems reducing costly and lengthy tax disputes which benefits both taxpayers and tax administrations. This would allow officials to utilize their precious resources more effectively.
It is also encouraging to note that there is a shared understanding that protocols, which are optional, should be designed to stand alone as treaties that can be signed individually.
The spirit of partnership¡ªbuilt on respect, transparency, and equality¡ªhas been palpable in the rooms. The active engagement of hundreds of delegates, both in the plenaries and in the technical workstreams, has set a powerful precedent for our future work.
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
As the Chair noted at the outset, this is a pivotal moment¡ªyet it is just the beginning of our journey.
Having completed the scoping phase, the Workstreams will shift to developing concrete proposals to be presented at the plenary in Nairobi in November and in New York in February.
As you embark on this crucial next stage, I wish to reaffirm that UN DESA stands ready to support you every step of this process.
On behalf of UN DESA, I extend our deepest gratitude to all Member States for your constructive engagement.
I extend special thanks to our Chair, Mr. Ramy Youssef, for your exceptional leadership, and to the Co-Leads for their dedicated efforts. I also deeply appreciate the vital contributions from our partners in international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector.
Thank you.