UNITED NATIONS: India has contributed $100,000 to a UN fund to help developing countries actively participate in the discussion of tax issues, becoming the first country to make the contribution.

The UN Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Fund ) received its first financial voluntary contribution from India, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Office for Financing for Development Office announced.

The UN Tax Trust Fund aims to support the work of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Committee ).

Voluntary contributions for the fund have been called for by the UN and the committee since its establishment in 2006.

The call for contributions was also emphasised in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda adopted at the third International Conference on Financing for Development in 2015, the UN department said.

India became the first country to respond to the call with an initial contribution of $100,000 that will be dedicated towards ensuring greater support for developing countries' participation in the sub-committee meetings of the UN Tax Committee, which are currently unfunded.

Handing over a cheque to the Financing for Development Office, India expressed hope that other countries will similarly contribute to the UN Tax Trust Fund to advance developing countries' participation on taxation issues.

Through the fund, the UN expects that more developing countries will draw upon the best practice of other bodies, ensuring that global tax cooperation norms and rules will work more effectively and efficiently for all countries and all stakeholders.

The UN Tax Committee, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC), has provided guidance on current issues such as double taxation treaties, transfer pricing (profit shifting) taxation of the extractive industries and taxation of services.

The committee also provides a framework for dialogues with a view to enhance and promote international tax cooperation among national tax authorities, while making recommendations on capacity-building and the provision of technical assistance to developing counties and countries with economies in transition.

The Addis Agenda provides a global framework to ensure the effective mobilisation of resources at the national and international level for sustainable development.

Implementation of the Addis Agenda supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the historic and transformational agenda that countries unanimously adopted in 2015.

