The UN Tax Treaty and Digital Justice Today
Dear Reader,
As the world comes to grips with the turbulent reality of the re-election of Donald Trump as the American president, the many frantic prognostications of his electoral performance are now slowly giving way to an examination of the repercussions of this victory for the US–and indeed, the world–going forward. In the realm of tech and the digital economy, certain tendencies are already starting to come into view.
To begin with his relationship to Big Tech, there are a number of signs that Trump will be ingratiating to their interests at many levels. The close relationship with Elon Musk is now apparent to all, and reports indicate that Trump is likely to eject a number of personnel and regulatory measures that Silicon Valley has long seen as thorns in their side. Most notably, he will likely replace Lina Khan as the head of the FTC, putting an end to the strong antitrust enforcement that was gaining momentum under the previous administration. Similarly, it is predicted that Trump will likely sack the current head of the National Labour Relations Board, and pivot the country’s labor laws firmly in favor of management. This may also dampen the gradual strengthening amongst tech unions that had begun to take place in recent years. Over and above this, Trump has also spoken about repealing Biden’s AI regulations, thereby unleashing an even greater push at the frontier of the current GenAI bubble.
Of course, with Trump, all coalitions are mixed with opposing forces and ideological commitment is often second to political expediency. Thus, there are also some signs that all will not be entirely well with Big Tech. Exemplarily, the pending appointment of free-speech advocate, and long-time Big Tech critic Brendan Carr to the Federal Communications Commission seems to be confirmed, and so the regulation of social media might see some action in the years ahead.
Zooming out, what Trump portends for the wider world of the digital economy seems to be a significant dose of heightened tensions. The recent comments by JD Vance, threatening to withdraw NATO support if the EU goes after Elon Musk’s companies, only indicate the point at which the incoming administration’s public discourse stands. With the specter of such radical policies as universal tariffs and outright trade wars looming, the push for greater digital sovereignty amongst the EU and various Global South nations is likely to face considerable hostility. How such adversity will be confronted, and what novel alliances it may give rise to, remains to be seen.
Parallelly, the world of crypto has been abuzz with enthusiasm ever since the election. Bitcoin reached a record high, amidst general stock and cryptocurrency rallies premised on the idea that Trump is going to champion the technology. It is expected that he will provide the regulatory conditions for a full-scale revival in an industry languishing since the high-profile bankruptcies and corruption scandals of 2022. Yet this narrative papers over the darker realities of the space over the last couple of years. While they may have been eclipsed from the limelight in some quarters, crypto projects have continued to proliferate in the majority world, and to do so in the most predatory fashion. As critics have noted, these range from the most outright neo-colonial and extractive projects in Africa and Latin America to the use of these unregulated jurisdictions to pilot sordid new ventures in surveillance and control.
If these are the forces that are going to be revitalized going forward, the Global South will have its work cut out in making sure they are kept firmly at bay. Indeed, if ever there was a time for solidarity amongst the countries of capitalism’s periphery, it is now. For if one thing is for certain, it is that there are vast centrifugal forces unravelling at the heart of the US world order and that its decline will not be without its frenzied violence and disruption. Being one of the last bastions of its power, the world of tech may well be the site for the most vociferous manifestations of this dynamic. It is imperative for the South to stick together, and hold fast to a vision of an alternative world to be patiently brought into being through the chaos of the present.
As a tribute to such a vision, this month DataSyn brings you a special edition, with four articles that put the spotlight on precisely the kind of undertaking that is the order of the day. We are talking about the path-breaking UN Tax Convention. An Africa-led, truly unprecedented multilateral effort that has the potential to amount to genuinely fair, equitable, and meaningful reform of international taxation, and a substantive move towards digital tax justice. Our first piece provides the historical and political context to understand the stakes of the UN Tax Convention. Our second piece delves into the details of how digital taxation is likely to be codified, and the likely fault lines between progressive forces and the interests of Big Tech. Our third piece broadens the scope, looking at how the UN Tax Convention may work in tandem with other multilateral tracks. Finally, our fourth piece captures the action on the ground, offering dispatches from the fight for progressive taxation as it is playing out in the G20. That's not all, however! As a bonus piece this month, we also feature an exploratory reflection on the Draghi report from a Southern perspective.
The DataSyn Team
THE NEW DIVERGENCE
Tax, Digitalization and the Making of History
Tove Maria Ryding
What is the UN Tax Convention, and why might it be of momentous political significance for the future of digital taxation? Surveying the North-South dynamics that have characterized the one-sided framing of international taxation prior to its adoption, Tove Maria Ryding provides the historical context that brings into relief the novelty and potential that surrounds this timely, and South-led, multilateral initiative.
Read on.
THE BIG EXCESS
Taxing the Big Tech Giants: A Forthcoming Solution in the United Nations Tax Convention?
Abdul Muheet Chowdhary, Anne Wanyagathi Maina, and Kolawole Omole
How is the field of international politics structured vis a vis digital taxation today? How are these political currents likely to translate into the processes and negotiations of the UN Tax Convention? Abdul Muheet Chowdhary, Anne Wanyagathi Maina, and Kolawole Omole get into the weeds of the Convention and map the dangers that Global South countries must navigate in order to secure genuine digital justice through this promising framework.
Read on.
DIGITAL DISSENT
A Democratic Revolution to Rewrite Tax Rules for the Digital Age: the UN Tax Convention
Sergio Chapparo
Drawing on long-standing research and advocacy on these issues with the Tax Justice Network, Segio Chapparo brings his expertise to bear on the background of the UN Tax Convention and why it is crucial for reforming the international taxation system. In doing so, he lays out the scope of the problems with digital taxation, and how the UN framework might work in tandem with other multilateral tracks to overcome them.
Read on.
THE POLICY TABLE
Tax Cooperation in the G20 Brazil Agenda
Ana Garcia
The G20 has become increasingly central as a forum for effective multilateralism, and the agreements secured there are often a good barometer of the progress being made on different issues. Where are things placed with global taxation, a central agenda item for Brazil's presidency this year? Ana Garcia provides an inside view into the battles being waged between the UN Tax Treaty and the OECD framework within the halls of G20 negotiations.
Read on.
PROLETARIAT MATTERS
The Draghi Report: A View from the South
Rudraksh Lakra
Widely seen as a landmark intervention and proposing radical measures for the future of the EU, the Draghi report has elicited considerable debate in Europe about how to recalibrate its policies to pursue its digital ambitions. Yet what do these discourses portend for the shifting geo-political terrain that the Global South must navigate going forward? Rudraksh Lakra surveys the landscape to provide some bearings.
Read on.
The Sins & Synergies Lounge
The US presidential election saw the rise of new digital actors in the form of ‘prediction markets’ such as Polymarket and has been dubbed the ‘podcast election’. Tune into this episode of the People vs. Algorithms podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on these new actors in the information space at election time. Also, check out this episode of the Better Offline podcast in conversation with Daron Acemoglu, making a bold proposition for protecting the integrity of the information space with a 50% tax on digital advertising revenue to reign in Big Tech social media platforms benefitting from the network effect.
Does the consolidation of Big Tech power harm innovation? Check out this article by Axel Gautier which attempts to answer this question by tracing afterlives of the “ghost products” created by Big Tech acquisitions.
The Global Digital Compact is upon us and changing the course of advocacy for global digital justice. Watch this extensive discussion from the book launch of Sorina Teleanu’s “Unpacking Global Digital Compact” offering both high-level overviews and detailed reflections, looking at the evolution of the GDC’s text, its foundational elements, and areas requiring critical consideration.
The digital has become an increasingly prominent and inevitable agenda for advocacy for social movements across sectors. Check out this call for applications to IT for Change’s residential institute on ‘Frontiers and Frames for a New Digitality,’ which aims to equip civil society actors with the necessary vocabulary, tools, and capacities to effectively frame and approach emerging digital intersections in their work and to develop strategies for effective political organization.
Can the cost of the gender digital divide be quantified? Watch this short interview with Sonia Jorge discussing the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership’s latest research on the challenges and opportunities of achieving gender digital inclusion.
Also check out this blog by Anuradha Ganapathy on the road to digital integration of micro, small, and medium enterprises in the digital economy.
Lastly, be sure to stop by this meditative and thought-provoking blog by Eke Rebergen on grappling with technological evil and the work of creative resistance.
Post-script
DataSyn is a free monthly newsletter from IT for Change, featuring content hosted by
Bot Populi. DataSyn is supported through the Fair, Green, and Global Alliance.
Liked what you read? To have such concise and relevant analysis on all things Big Tech delivered to your inbox every month, subscribe to DataSyn!