A proposal to summon Cláudia Reis Duarte from the ministerial team of Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento to the Assembly of the Republic was initiated by the Socialist Party (PS) and unanimously approved by the parties present during the vote at the Budget, Finance and Public Administration Committee (COFAP), including the PSD, PS, Chega, and PCP.
The agenda involves a hearing about the United Nations Framework Convention on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, which is being negotiated with the participation of the Portuguese state, represented by Portugal’s mission to the UN in Geneva and the Fiscal Studies Center of the Tax and Customs Authority (AT).
PS deputy Miguel Costa Matos described the negotiation of this instrument introduced by the UN to promote fiscal cooperation between states and increase global revenue as an “absolutely innovative” step, following the OECD and G20’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan and the EU’s administrative cooperation initiatives.
The first negotiation round of the convention occurred from August 4 to 15 in New York, with the second from November 10 to 21 in Nairobi. The third round is scheduled for August 3 to 14, 2026, in New York.
Miguel Costa Matos emphasized COFAP’s interest in “monitoring the progress of these works,” which are being led by an intergovernmental negotiating committee of the UN.
The treaty “could be very important for Portugal to have less tax revenue loss and reduce the taxation burden on the Portuguese,” noted the PS deputy.
The socialist parliamentarian clarified that initially, the PS intended to request the foreign minister’s presence in parliament but decided it could be advantageous to reserve Paulo Rangel’s presence for a later stage.
Currently, the PS sees value in hearing from the Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs since, on the Portuguese side, the convention “is jointly negotiated by the Fiscal Studies Center of AT and Portugal’s mission to the UN in Geneva.”
Since Cláudia Reis Duarte oversees tax matters, “she politically oversees these negotiations through the AT negotiator” and can provide the deputies with updates on the discussions between governments.
The new convention aims to enhance international tax cooperation and combat illicit financial flows so that states can strengthen their tax revenues and increase investments, thereby achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In December 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (77/2441) to promote “inclusive and effective international tax cooperation in the United Nations,” serving as the starting point for this initiative.
In August 2023, Secretary-General António Guterres published a report suggesting that the United Nations could initiate negotiations for a legally binding framework convention on international cooperation in this area, which has now commenced.
The treaty reference terms include drafting two initial protocols: one on taxing income from services in multiple countries in the context of the digitized economy, and another on preventing and resolving tax disputes.
The intergovernmental negotiation committee’s schedule aims for the work to be completed by 2027, to be reviewed in the first quarter of the 82nd session of the UN General Assembly.
