Allison Christians (McGill; Google Scholar) presents Minimum Tax, Maximum Governance at Toronto today as part of its James Hausman Tax Law and Policy Workshop hosted by Ben Alarie:

The OECD’s Pillar Two project aimed to establish a global minimum tax for large multinationals, but its most enduring impact will likely be maximum governance: an increasingly complex and fragmented transnational tax order. As non-OECD member countries seek to expand their influence on global tax relations through the UN while continuing to engage with the OECD’s anti-BEPS agenda, we can expect a proliferation of committees, meetings, negotiations, and collaboration among governmental and nongovernmental organizations amplifying the already intricate politics of global tax policymaking. Whether this period of expansion will result in better, more equitable policies or simply reinforce the status quo cannot be foretold. 

What is clear is that beyond any substantive policy reforms it may bring, Pillar Two is part of a cycle of institution-building arising from widespread dissatisfaction with past governance models, raising critical questions about the future of international tax relations and the value of a decentralized if more resource-intensive process. 

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