G20 Outcomes: Their Significance for Middle and Low Income Countries
Keynote: Caroline Atkinson, US Sherpa to the G20
Wednesday, December 10
3:00 – 5:00 pm
@ the Carnegie Center
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036
At the G20 level, behind the political intrigue, a number of major economic reforms have developed in the last several years – notably on global tax policy and financial reform. These are positive developments, but there is growing concern that these reforms will not resolve the major challenges faced by non-G20 countries.
This event will convene representatives from government and civil society to evaluate the outcomes from the G20 Summit in Brisbane, with a particular focus on what it means for Middle and Low Income countries. How are the interests of non-member countries accounted for in the G20 process? How can we ensure that reforms in finance and tax policy benefit Middle and Low Income countries? We will address these issues and others.
The event will conclude by looking to the future of the G20 under Turkey’s leadership. Turkey recently released its priorities for its G20 presidency – available here
AGENDA
OPENING REMARKS:
Caroline Atkinson, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, United States of America
PANEL DISCUSSION:
Mr. Ismaila Diallo, Ministry of Economy and Finances, Senegal
John Ruthrauff, InterAction
Chair: Jo Marie Griesgraber, New Rules for Global Finance
OPEN DISCUSSION
Summaries and Videos:
Setting the stage for discussion on the effects of G20 decision-making on middle and low income countries, Caroline Atkinson discussed the current role of the G20 in the international community. The dynamic nature of the G20, she says, allows the G20 to respond to issues of the day. In Brisbane, for example, G20 members discussed Ebola and the development of resilient health systems prepared to handle global public health crises.
This dynamism naturally puts the G20 into the spotlight during times of crisis, but Ms. Atkinson emphasizes the role of the G20 in addressing underlying and ongoing issues. Actions taken by the G20 on any of these issues will have implications for middle and low income countries, and Ms. Atkinson stresses that G20 leaders are committed to ensuring that these implications will come in the form of positive spillovers for countries outside of the G20.
In her address, Ms. Atkinson highlighted six underlying and ongoing issues receiving G20 attention, and how G20 action on those issues will affect countries outside of the G20. Issues discussed included: job creation, global growth, and the reduction of inequality in economic recovery; investment and infrastructure investment; the stability of the global financial system; trade, energy, and climate change; international tax reforms; and financial inclusion.
For her full address, please watch the video below:
Following Ms. Atkinson’s overview of the G20’s priority issues and how they will affect countries outside of the G20, Mr. Diallo discussed the challenges facing developing countries, specifically regarding taxation. He noted that reforms to the international tax system will improve efficiency to secure resources for development financing. As developing countries will be significantly impacted by actions taken by the G20 and OECD on tax issues, he applauded invitations extended to developing countries to participate in the BEPS process but called for greater inclusion.
At the national level, Mr. Diallo stressed the need for developing countries to modernize their tax systems. Capacity building at the national level will be integral in moving forward with international taxation rules. Specifically, Mr. Diallo discussed capacity building in the form of training tax administration officials for improving development and implementation strategies, and in boosting information technology (IT) expertise of developing countries to facilitate information sharing in real-time. He additionally mentioned the need for greater capacity in the generation and analysis of tax statistics. Most of the time, developing countries do not have figures relating to their tax systems, or if they do have statistics, the data is not being effectively processed. Lastly, arguing that tax revenues are the most sustainable source of financing for development, he questioned the efficacy of developing countries to attract investment through tax incentives and holidays for multinationals. Because these practices undermine tax collection, he underlined that these policies must be revised for sustainable taxation. In his conclusion, he stressed the need to develop methodologies to tax ODA-funded development projects. The tax system of a developing country needs to be both reliable and predictable in order to promote strong taxation policies for future investment.
Mr. Diallo’s presentation is available here.
For his remarks, please watch the video below:
Mr. Ruthrauff shed light on how the outcomes of the Brisbane Summit will shape the coming dialogues on key global issues. On job creation, he applauded the G20 for two positive developments: members have agreed to report back on labor statistics, and the newly developed employment working group will be creating “terms of references” for employment benchmarks. These two movements are important because they represent veritable actions being taken on a G20 commitment. He pointed to the wider breadth of G20 commitments, many of which have received little or no action by the G20. Mr. Ruthrauff also mentioned positive developments in other areas, but noted that the G20 has often failed to address some key issues, including the social and environmental aspects of areas predominantly driven by business interests.
Mr. Ruthrauff’s Presentation is availablehere.
Additional materials included:
InterAction’s 2014 Brisbane G20 Summit: Document Outline and Scorecard
InterAction’s 2014 G20 Delegation of Duties
For a clip of Mr. Ruthrauff’s remarks, please watch the video below: