Fair, predictable tax rules let businesses plan and grow with confidence, while allowing governments to fund essential public services. ICC engages with leading inter-governmental bodies to ensure the voice of business is represented in global tax negotiations and rulemaking.
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Taxation underpins economic prosperity and sustainable development – but only when the rules are clear, consistent and fairly applied.
Fragmented, unpredictable tax systems create barriers to trade and investment. They raise compliance costs, increase the risk of double taxation and can hamper innovation and entrepreneurship by making it harder for businesses to plan and grow.
As business models digitalise and workforces become more mobile, the need for coherent, workable tax rules has never been greater.
At ICC, we convene senior tax executives and practitioners from multinationals, small-and medium-sized enterprises and business associations in more than 40 countries. Together, we work to shape international tax standards that are practical and future-proof.
From reallocating taxing rights, implementing a global minimum corporate tax, and addressing the taxation of cross-border teleworkers and digital services, to aligning tax systems with sustainability reporting and carbon pricing –we translate real-world operational challenges into workable solutions that balance the needs of business and government.
Our unique Permanent Observer status at the United Nations gives business a voice in global tax negotiations usually exclusively reserved for governments. Beyond the UN, we engage directly with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Commission, Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism (BRITACOM) and regional platforms such as the Platform for Taxation in Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC) to ensure the business perspective is heard where tax rules are made.
ICC Global Taxation Commission
Luisa Scarcella, ICC Global Lead – Taxation and Trade
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Tax rules are administrable, trusted and effective when shaped with the inputs of those who must comply with and apply them. Formal, structured engagement with business should be embedded into international negotiations from the start. Early, transparent input from practitioners reduces the risk that tax rules are designed in ways that don’t reflect how complex service and supply‑chain models actually work. It also cuts compliance costs and disputes, and reduces costly after-the-fact revisions –benefiting both administrations and taxpayers. Clear channels for dialogue also speed up implementation by clarifying operational requirements before rules are finalised, enabling governments to better mobilise revenue without undermining business competitiveness.
At the United Nations, we are calling for the creation of a Technical Business Advisory Council to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. As the only business organisation with UN Observer status, ICC is uniquely placed to help ensure outcomes remain practical and workable across economies and sectors.
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Tax certainty is essential for businesses to plan, invest and grow across borders. Unresolved disputes and unpredictable rules tie up capital and deter investment, especially for SMEs and in emerging markets. We advocate for embedding clear taxpayer rights, early engagement mechanisms – such as advance rulings and cooperative compliance that provide clarity early on and help to prevent disputes –and binding, time-bound dispute resolution mechanisms into international frameworks like the UN Tax Convention.
When tax certainty is prioritised, businesses can allocate resources confidently, governments secure stable revenue and cross-border trade flourishes. Fewer disputes and faster resolutions lower compliance costs, freeing capital for investment and innovation, which drives sustainable growth and prosperity.
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The OECD Two-Pillar solution offers a path to stabilise tax rights in a digital economy, but only if implementation is coordinated and rules are clear enough to apply, simply enough to comply and manageable for tax administrations to enforce. Under Pillar-Two’s global minimum corporate tax, we advocate for robust safe harbours – simplified compliance for low-risk entities and transactions, reduce unnecessary reporting, and allow tax authorities to focus resources where risks are greatest.
Applied coherently, these measures will lower excessively burdensome corporate compliance and crucially provide durable certainty and foresight for long-term investment, while ensuring governments can mobilise revenues without undermining corporate competitiveness. The result will be a fairer, more predictable international tax environment that supports innovation and global economic growth.
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Remote work across borders is now a permanent feature of the global economy, but uncertainty around permanent establishment (PE) risk and employer obligations can deter otherwise low-risk arrangements. We propose a 60-day safe harbour under which temporary telework on personal grounds would not give rise to a permanent establishment or trigger employer tax or social security liabilities. Embedding this approach in international guidance and bilateral agreements will provide practical certainty for employers and employees, sustain talent mobility and allow tax authorities to focus on higher-risk cases. Clear rules for teleworking will reduce compliance burdens and disputes, while preserving countries’ taxing rights and supporting a modern, flexible workforce.
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A new international tax provision endorsed by the United Nations Tax Committee of Experts could undermine growth and public revenues in developing economies, according to an independent Oxford Economics study commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
A new UN tax model provision risks triggering an estimated US$241 million in annual government revenue losses for the Global South. Any revenue gains from the new provisions would be fully offset, resulting in a net fiscal loss. This independent Oxford Economics report, commissioned by ICC, is the first quantitative assessment of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of the new Article 12AA on cross-border services.
As United Nations negotiations on a Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation continue, ICC warns that reforms risk creating new layers of double taxation. Following the latest round of talks in Nairobi, ICC states that expanding taxing rights without mandatory safeguards and relief from double taxation could undermine cross-border investment, strain tax administrations and weaken global growth.
ICC is advocating for predictable, stable global tax rules to support cross-border trade and investment at the first rounds of United Nations Tax Framework Convention talks. Taxpayer rights, rigorous economic analysis, clarity on new instruments and effective dispute prevention and resolution were championed as key priorities for business.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) would like to provide input on the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s Workstream III Draft Issues Note – Early Protocol on the Prevention and Resolution of Tax Disputes, emphasizing the need for a consistent, stable, and certain global tax system to foster trade and investment. The Draft Issues Note rightly […]
ICC proposes a 60-day ‘safe harbour’ that would exempt employers from permanent establishment risks, employer tax and social security obligations when employees temporarily work across borders for personal reasons.
Understanding the differences between value-added taxes (VAT) and tariffs is crucial for informed international trade policy decisions. Providing insight into VAT and its role in global trade, this ICC policy brief clarifies the differences between VAT and import tariffs, illustrating how VAT operates as a consumption tax designed to be neutral and non-discriminatory towards foreign businesses.
Following a three-week intergovernmental meeting in New York earlier this month, the United Nations has adopted Terms of Reference for a Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation – a potentially significant step towards establishing new rules for cross-border taxation.
Commenting on the UN zero draft terms of reference (ToR) for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, ICC has emphasised the importance of clear, inclusive, and stable tax regimes to promote economic growth and sustainable development.
After the 28th session of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters in March 2024 in New York, ICC, through its Global Taxation Commission and in collaboration with ICC national committees, drafted a submission presenting practical business examples and highlighting the significant concerns that ICC members have regarding the Committee’s proposed Article XX on the taxation of cross-border services.
