Will poorer countries benefit from international tax reform?

INTERNATIONAL TAXOECDOECD reform pits tax-hungry governments against giant multinational companies and their armies of tax advisers. It sets high-tax jurisdictions against . And it requires rich- and poor-country governments to somehow reach agreement. The 139 countries haggling at a forum run by the , a club of mostly rich countries, have yet to reach a consensus. Poorer countries worry that the proposals on the table discussed are too complicated, inflexible and unfair.Developing countries are thirsty for revenue in general, and reliant on corporate tax in particular. In 2017 African countries raised 19% of their overall revenue from corporation tax, compared with an average of just 9% for members. That is partly because large informal sectors mean that they raise less in, say, personal-income tax.