The annual meetings of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters should be moved from Geneva to New York to allow greater stakeholder input and better coordination of UN operations, the UN Secretary-General recommended in a March 11 report.
The Committee of Experts, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council, is responsible for preparing key UN tax documents, such as the UN Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries and the United Nations Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries.
The Committee meets annually at the UN Office in Geneva for five days and submits its report to the UN Economic and Social Council at its substantive session.
According to the Secretary-General report, moving the meeting to New York would mirror a decision made following the 2005 World Summit to move the Council substantive sessions to New York.
“This would allow for better integration of the work of the Committee into work of the Council, as well as relevant United Nations processes,” the report said.
Moreover, there appears to be more interest in the work of the Committee of Experts in New York than in Geneva, so the move would provide more of an opportunity to engage with stakeholders.
“Should the Committee meet in New York, such interested delegates would be able to participate in its sessions, which are open to observers, as decided by the Committee in an effort to ensure transparency and show its willingness to seek inputs and perspectives from beyond its membership,” the report states.
Current observers include country representatives as well as members of business, civil society, associations, and other UN programs, the report notes.
“Many Committee members highly value the contributions by the observers and are of the view that they add extra legitimacy to the Committee’s outputs,” the report said.
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