Dialogue on Tax and SDGs 30 Nov - 2 Dec

UNDP, Columbia University and Norway to organize a first-of-its-kind dialogue to build a shared understanding of taxation and the Sustainable Development Goals

The three-day dialogue will gather high-level policymakers, diplomats and tax administrations in New York to discuss how tax and fiscal policies can be leveraged to their fullest potential to achieve the SDGs.

 While taxation and fiscal policies are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a lack of shared understanding of these linkages among high-level policymakers, tax administrators and diplomats. To tackle this challenge, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) along with the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) within Columbia University and the Government of Norway is organizing a three-day dialogue on tax and SDGs for high-level policymakers, diplomats, and tax administrators to develop a shared understanding of different tax and SDGs issues. Access the up-to-date program here.

With significant, well-targeted public and private investments required to reach the goals set by the 2030 Agenda, tax and fiscal policies need to be leveraged to their fullest potential towards achieving the SDGs.

An acute challenge for countries is the lack of shared understanding of the relationship between tax and the SDGs across different state institutions, notably the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance, and Tax Administrations, which results in working in silos, instead of working to reinforce each other work towards common goals. During the three-day dialogue, participants will be introduced to the basic ideas of taxation and the SDGs, discuss the critical interlinkages, and will be provided with resources and contacts that they can refer to when participating in tax discussions and negotiations.

The dialogue will take place at the Columbia University campus from 30 November to 2 December 2022 and will feature inputs and interactions with world-renowned professors and practitioners on different topics around tax and SDGs, including Achim Steiner, Asim Khwaja, Bernadette Ann-Marie O'Hare, Carlos Lopes, Gabriel Zucman, Jayati Ghosh, Jesse Drucker, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Mauricio Cárdenas, Rebecca Riddell, et al. Access the full list of speakers. 

The dialogue is organized as a part of UNDP’s new Tax for SDGs Initiative that supports developing countries in increasing domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and achieving the SDGs, funded by the Governments of Finland and Norway.

For more information, contact us here or email taxforsdgs@undp.org

Kindly note that the dialogue can be attended by invitation only and is not open to the public. The conversations will not be live streamed but select parts of the dialogue will be publicized after the dialogue has concluded.