On August 8th, 2023, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General published a report on the “Promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations". The highly anticipated report lays out a way forward for international tax cooperation as envisioned by the UN. It analyzes past and present efforts both by the UN and the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) and presents three options on how inclusiveness and effectiveness in international tax cooperation may be increased. In essence, the UN aims at taking the leading role in tax norm shaping and rule setting in the future. This paper highlights the historical role of the UN regarding multilateralism in international tax cooperation and points out the most important findings and suggestions of the report.
