UN appoints Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters

Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed 25 experts to the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters for the 2025–2029 term. The experts will help countries design tax policies that advance their social, environmental, and economic development objectives and successfully implement them. 

The Committee supports countries in navigating complex policy trade-offs, such as taxing digital services without discouraging innovation, designing environmental taxes that advance climate goals while maintaining competitiveness, and ensuring that double tax treaties protect developing countries’ tax bases while promoting investment. The Committee’s guidance provides countries with practical options and tools based on real-world experiences from tax systems around the world.

“The Committee helps countries work together to ensure their tax policies serve their development priorities,” explained Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, head of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), which serves as secretariat for the committee. “Countries may want to modernize their tax treaties to reflect today’s digital economy, ensure fair taxation in the extractives sector, or explore options for wealth taxation. The Committee provides a unique space where diverse experts can tackle frontier challenges together, drawing upon relevant experiences and practices while developing new solutions that work across different tax systems.”