My Story

By: Alexa Dominique Pascual 

09/05/2025

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​ The team and I are fortunate to be part of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee (INC) on International Tax Cooperation as a member of the next generation of tax and governance professionals. The negotiations were an important milestone toward creating a more transparent, effective and inclusive international tax framework with implications for financial stability, sustainable development, and the governance of the global economy.

Engagement Beyond the Plenary
 

In addition to the Plenary meetings, we engaged with UN missions and civil society , youth led organizations, Intergovernmental Organizations and stakeholders through bilateral and informal consultations. The team and I also met with the Chair for a technical discussion on taxation. These exchanges focused on strengthening dispute prevention, adapting decision-making processes to allow more meaningful participation, and advancing reforms to make the system more inclusive. In all of these discussions, I emphasized that international tax cooperation is not merely a technical, rules-based system, but lies at the core of economic governance - underpinning trust, stability, and resilience in both the international financial system and the global economy.

The work of the INC was always contextualized in discussions around global finance and international economics more broadly, which the members constantly reminded themselves of during negotiations – the way that effective tax cooperation can unlock cross-border investment, stop capital flight and help to bolster domestic resource mobilization, all issues with human, social and developmental impacts and consequences. All of these considerations framed each meeting and captured how the outcome of negotiations around the allocation of taxing rights and the technical details of dispute prevention and resolution can be so important in driving financial stability, development finance and states’ abilities to respond to shocks, both domestic and international. In this way, the INC meetings were significant not only for how tax rules are negotiated, but also for how the global financial architecture can be reshaped- to give states greater agency, safeguard markets, and build an economic system for future generations grounded in transparency and accountability.

As outlined in the MGCY–DMUN position paper, this was also brought home in discussions with young people, where it was clear that if issues like unresolved tax disputes, unfair tax treaties and the digital tax gap are not addressed, then the international economic system will continue to pose challenges and barriers for inclusive growth and sustainable finance. Solving these issues links tax cooperation to the international economic system and can create a predictable environment for business to grow and investments to be made, while providing governments with the revenue needed to invest in youth and future generations through access to education, health care, climate resilience and digitalisation.

See position paper here

My intervention consisted of: 

I. Preventing Tax Disputes Before They Happen
I emphasized the need for robust dispute prevention mechanisms in the international tax system. Disputes take time, and while they are being worked out, the lingering uncertainty can stymie fiscal stability and scare away investors, especially in the more vulnerable markets. A more preventive international tax framework can avert these risks and allow for more sustained economic growth.

II. Bridging the Public–Private Divide for Sustainable Growth
I also highlighted the role of public and private sector partnerships for sustainable development. Tax governance is part of the necessary toolkit for responsible technology investment and for supporting sustainable finance. I tied this in to the safe and inclusive development of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). Transparent and well-governed tax policy can ensure that investment in these fields is responsible and not used to facilitate misuse or cross-border illicit financing.

III. Including Youth and Future Generations
In my intervention, I also made the case for youth and intergenerational inclusion in international tax governance. The financial architecture being negotiated and developed in these meetings will shape our world for decades and institutional mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the representation of youth in tax-related bodies and processes.

IV. Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilization
The last pillar of my intervention advocated for an equitable international tax framework that will allow all economies to mobilize domestic resources more efficiently and for sustainable development. When participation is limited or symbolic, it risks marginalizing key stakeholders and may hinder collective progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Tax and Gender Equality, and SRHR

Tax policy is not gender-neutral. As women are more likely to be informally employed, in low-paid and temporary jobs, they are also more likely to be affected by regressive taxes. This is why a fair tax system is not only important for being progressive for all, but it is particularly important for being progressive towards women. The illicit financial flows associated with tax evasion and avoidance, in particular, undermine the ability of states to spend on social protection and other vital public services. Women are disproportionately reliant on these services, as they are more likely to be engaged in care work and continue to face systemic discrimination and barriers to accessing private sector safety nets.

For example, the impacts of cuts in public spending that result from tax evasion and avoidance affect women disproportionately. This has a knock-on effect on the distribution of income between genders. These expenditures often are the very building blocks of social protection and social security, as well as education and health systems. This in turn affects women's agency and ability to participate in the economy as well as their physical and mental health. In particular, it also affects Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and maternal health; a lack of investments in the latter increases maternal mortality rates, and both have an important effect on women's economic independence and resilience.
 

The gendered impacts of taxation must also be understood through the lens of economic governance, as highlighted in discussions at the Global Forum’s 2021 Conference on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. In today’s context of pandemic recovery, building resilient systems for people and the planet requires equitable and sustainable economic development, where tax plays a critical role. Beyond advancing women’s economic empowerment directly, fairer tax systems expand public resources that can be directed toward social programs - supporting women’s choices, reducing maternal mortality, and strengthening households in fragile contexts.

Why This Matters

Tax, in some ways, is a technical issue. But at its heart are questions of economic justice and stability. The INC is more than a negotiation on tax rules and procedures. It’s about creating a financial system that is accountable, transparent, and committed to broad-based prosperity.

A better coordinated approach to international tax cooperation and a more well-conceived global framework is also a matter of resilience to future shocks. For the private sector, this means operating in a more predictable and responsible context that allows for sustainable returns. For future generations, it means inheriting a financial system defined by forward-looking policies rather than by past failures and recurring crises.

For the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) and DMUN Foundation, the position paper we submitted to the negotiations from the child and youth perspective makes it clear that international tax reform is not only a technical efficiency issue, but one of justice for young people and future generations.

Taxation discussions that drag on for years, an inequitable allocation of taxing rights and harmful avoidance practices all rob resources that could instead be used for education, healthcare, digital access, climate resilience, and youth employment. Our submission underscores that young people – as taxpayers, entrepreneurs, and innovators – are often overlooked stakeholders who must have a seat at the table in shaping a fairer global tax system.

In short, what is at stake with this process is not just a technical tax convention, but a generational contract. A contract that ensures the mobilization of resources for inclusive development and the protection of the fiscal space necessary for tomorrow’s leaders to thrive.

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Looking Ahead
 

The INC experience showed me that the most effective form of global governance is one that includes policymakers, civil society, and young people in the decision-making process. I was able to represent the DMUN Foundation alongside the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), the official youth constituency of the United Nations, and it was a testament to the power of youth-led coalitions and collaboration in driving the call for inclusive governance. In partnership with a team of like-minded peers, we were able to leverage our expertise and insights to make meaningful interventions and bilateral discussions to ensure young people’s priorities were well represented during the negotiations. This experience solidified my passion for being involved in international frameworks to make global governance and international economics not only more effective, but more equitable as well, and for continuing to push for the meaningful inclusion of the next generation of decision-makers in governing the global economy.