The Global Tax System Is Broken. We Can’t Trust Rich Countries to Fix It.
The world is finally recognizing the harms of corporate tax avoidance. But the OECD’s solution to the problem is designed by rich countries, for rich countries. We need an alternative.
Leaders of G7 countries gather for the 2021 summit in Cornwall, England, June 11. (Jonny Weeks – WPA Pool / Getty Images)
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso, the UK’s Elton John — politicians and wealthy elite from around the world were implicated this week in a massive exposé on the world of tax havens. The third of a series that began with 2016’s Panama Papers, the “Pandora Papers” are a brutal reminder that the global tax system is designed to work for the few at the expense of the many.
But while the Pandora Papers leak is rightfully grabbing headlines around the world, it may not have been the most consequential tax news this week. On Friday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced that a global agreement to fight corporate tax avoidance had been reached. Yet as details of the plan emerged in the months leading up to the announcement, it become increasingly clear that the Global South is once again getting the short end of the stick.
The world’s tax system is broken. Rich countries won’t fix it. The Global North may be willing to turn away from the worst excesses of neoliberalism, but it does so at the South’s expense.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.