The growing
international consensus on the need to tax ‘global billionaires’ in a socially
acceptable manner has centred on a potential minimum tax on the consolidated
wealth of these Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs). Such an initiative
could both compensate for the practical difficulties of effective income (and
capital gains) taxation at the national level due to financial mobility; and
generate new fiscal resources for public goods such as health, education and
environment. However, the implications for the ‘global south’ are still unclear
and deserve further analysis. This article addresses three fundamental issues:
the allocation of taxing rights, cooperation between tax authorities and the process
of international fiscal negotiation. All three require clarification as to an
appropriate common position for developing countries and we present concrete
proposals for how to make progress on all three. The recently launched
initiative on ‘Enforcing Effective Taxation of High-Net-Worth Individuals.
Taxing the Super-rich’ under the 2025 Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA) at the
fourth Financing For Development International Conference, can provide an
effective means for participating countries to collaborate, coordinate and
advance solutions to ensure that high net worth individuals pay their fair
share.