Macroeconomic and Financial Policies

Policy Brief 52, September 2018

The Causes of Currency Turmoil in the Emerging Economies

By Yuefen LI

Many emerging economies and developing countries are facing strong economic headwinds. Currency depreciation pressure is mounting for some countries. Argentina and Turkey are coping with currency crises, massive capital outflows and hyperinflation. To say their crises are completely self-inflicted is not correct. The exogenous shocks have played an important role.  Other emerging economies and developing countries as a whole should be vigilant and try to defend their currencies and maintain financial stability. It is also high time to try to fix the flaws in the international financial system.

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Tax Cooperation Policy Brief 4, September 2018

Exchange of Information: Indian Experience, Developing Country Implications

By Jahanzeb Akhtar

Exchange of tax-related information between countries is a critical tool for addressing information asymmetries between governments and taxpayers that facilitate tax evasion/avoidance. However, the existing system of information exchange has been essentially designed and implemented by the OECD, without the participation of developing countries. This policy brief thus discusses India’s experience with implementing information exchange for tax and other purposes, with lessons being drawn for other developing countries grappling with base erosion and profit shifting.

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Tax Cooperation Policy Brief 3, August 2018

Interaction of Transfer Pricing & Profit Attribution: Conceptual and Policy Issues for Developing Countries

By Dr. Vinay Kumar Singh

Till 2010, model tax conventions treated profit attribution to permanent  establishments  and transfer  pricing under  different  articles,  and  profit  attribution under Article  7  allowed sales to be taken into account both in the direct accounting method as well as the indirect apportionment  method.  However,  the  revised  Article  7  in  the  2010 update of the OECD Convention approximated profit  attribution  with  transfer  pricing  and  omitted  the option  of  apportionment,  thereby  undermining  sales  and contributions   made   by   market   jurisdiction   to   business profits. When a tax treaty retains Article 7 based on the UN Convention  or  the  earlier  OECD  Convention,  Contracting States  can  take  sales  into  account  and  also  opt  for  apportionment.  Developing  countries  need  to  fully  understand these implications of  Article  7 in their tax treaties, and opt for informed choices for transfer pricing and profit attribution  to  permanent  establishments,  including  apportionment that takes sales into account.

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SC Lunch Briefing with the Executive Director, 17 April 2018

Title:                 The Global South Facing a New Era of Unilateralism and Protectionism: Challenges and                                            Prospects

Date:                 Tuesday, 17 April 2018, 13h00-15h00

Venue:              Room XXIII, Palais des Nations, Geneva

Organizers:      The South Centre

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Policy Brief 48, June 2018

Collaboration or Co-optation? A review of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax

By Manuel F. Montes and Pooja Rangaprasad

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT), launched in April 2016, is an effort to intensify cooperation on tax issues among the staff of the OECD, IMF, World Bank and the United Nations.  The PCT’s stated objectives include the production of joint outputs, strengthening interactions between standard setting, capacity building and technical assistance and sharing information. PCT has since produced toolkits on issues such as tax incentives, transfer pricing, and taxation of offshore indirect transfers. The PCT also held its first global conference in February 2018 at the UN where a concluding ‘conference statement’, negotiated among the four secretariats, was produced.

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Policy Brief 47, June 2018

Renewed crises in emerging economies and the IMF ‒ Muddling through again?

As recognised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global financial safety net including international reserves, Fund resources, bilateral swap arrangements, regional financing arrangements is “fragmented with uneven coverage” and “too costly, unreliable and conducive to moral hazard”.  Given the aversion of emerging economies to the IMF and unilateral debt standstills and exchange controls, the next crisis is likely to be even messier than the previous ones.  Some countries may seek and succeed in getting bilateral support from China or some reserve-currency countries according to their political stance and affiliation.  In such cases, crisis intervention would become even more politicised than in the past and a lot less reliant on multilateral arrangements.  By failing to establish an orderly and equitable system of crisis resolution, the IMF may very well find its role significantly diminished in the management of the next bout of crises in emerging economies.  In other words, multilateralism, however imperfect, could face another blow in the sphere of finance after trade.

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Tax Cooperation Policy Brief 2, May 2018

Transfer Pricing: Concepts and Practices of the ‘Sixth Method’ in Transfer Pricing

Many developing countries are particularly concerned with problems of transfer pricing in the extractive industries, which are often significant components of their economies. Similar to other sectors, profit attribution may be highly dependent on the valuation of commodity exports. For this reason, a number of developing countries have adopted the ‘Sixth Method’, following the Argentine experience. This method aims to establish a clear and easily administered benchmark and avoid the need for subjective judgment and discretion.

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Tax Cooperation Policy Brief 1, May 2018

Ecuador and Its Fight Against Tax Havens

Taxation has been a key tool in improving Ecuador’s Gini coefficient. Ecuador has improved how it manages tax collection and implemented domestic anti-fraud regulations and international mechanisms concerning aspects such as transfer pricing and tax havens. These measures have helped to increase the tax base, which has had a positive impact on the redistribution of wealth and equality. The increase in the tax base has also led to more social investments in health care, education, the road infrastructure, etc.

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SC Debate, 13 April 2018

Title:              Revolution Required: G7 Policies and Their Implications for Global Stability and Growth

Date:              Friday, 13 April 2018, 15H-18H

Venue:           Room XXII, United Nations, Geneva

Organizer:     The South Centre

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Research Paper 84, February 2018

Playing with Financial Fire: A South Perspective on the International Financial System

By Andrew Cornford

Playing with Fire (PWF) is a continuation of the analysis of the integration of Emerging and Developing Economies (EDEs) into the international financial system which Yılmaz Akyüz has carried out in his roles as senior economist for many years responsible for UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report and Chief Economist at the South Centre. The treatment covers cross-border financial flows, increased commercial presence of foreign financial institutions in EDEs and their increased participation in their local financial markets as well as policy and regulatory issues. PWF deploys data on major cross-border financial flows on a gross as well as a net basis. This innovative approach facilitates identification of financial stability issues posed by the increased participation of EDEs in international financial markets.

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