Webinar: Nordic Tax Aid
How can Nordic aid on tax contribute to reduce inequality and enhance gender equality? Are we living up to our promises from the Addis Tax Initiative?
Dowload Policy brief by organisers at bottom of the page.
Programme
The Addis Tax Initiative was adopted in 2015. Participant countries committed to double their aid for DRM from 2015 to 2020, stepping up DRM to reach the SDGs and to pursue policy coherence for development. Nordic countries have traditionally been leading on size and quality of official development aid, including being spearheading the ATI initiative. The ATI declaration for 2021-2025 was released in November 2020, and reducing inequality is one focus for the upcoming period. This is an area where Nordic countries have a wealth of experience.
The conference will take stock of the ATI with a specific focus on the Nordic countries’ contributions. It will explore the potential for cooperation and joint work based on renewed ATI-commitments and with a view to strengthening DRM-support more broadly working closely with developing partner countries.
Opening
13:00 - 13:05 Welcome/ Lisa Sivertsen, Director of Politics and Society, Norwegian Church Aid (moderator)
13:05 - 13:15 Setting the scene: Taking stock of the ATI and looking forward / Penny Davies, Senior Policy Adviser on development finance at Diakonia (Sweden)
Expectations from developing countries on 2021-2025
13:15 - 13:22 Chenai Mukumba, Policy, Research and Advocacy manager, Tax Justice Network Africa
Nordic country governments’ responses / ATI achievements to date / Promises for 2021-2025
13:27 - 13:35 Dag Inge Ulstein, Minister of International Development (Norway)
13:35 - 13:40 Per Olsson Fridh, State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation (Sweden)
13:40 - 13:45 Elina Kalkku, Under-Secretary of State (Finland)
13:45 - 13:50 Pernille Mortensen, Deputy Director, Department of Multilateral Cooperation (Denmark)
Debate and Q&A
13:50-14:10 Discussion governmental reps
- Short comments from Nordic parliamentarians: Magnus Ek, Centerpartiet (Sweden)
- Why are not all Nordic countries reaching the commitments?
- Can increased Nordic cooperation contribute to reduced inequality through DRM? How?
Joined by:
Mr. Arvinn Gadgil, Policy Director, International Development Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)
Dr. Timo Voipio, Program Director, Taxation for Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Finland)
14:10-14:30 Questions from audience and answers
The webinar is a part of a Nordic cooperation project on tax and development, made possible with financial support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
About the speakers
Dag Inge Ulstein is the Minister of International Development in Norway since 2019 and is from the Christian Democratic Party.
Foto: Sturlason/Regjeringen
Per Olsson Fridh is State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation in Sweden and is from the Swedish Green Party.
Foto: Kristian Pohl
Elina Kalkku is the Under-Secretary of State, a senior diplomat responsible for development policy, Africa and Middle-East in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Foto: Open Government Partnership
Alvin Mosioma is the founding Executive Director of Tax Justice Network Africa, a Pan-African Advocacy and Research Network. He is a leading voice on tax policy in Africa and has spear headed numerous civil society campaigns in Africa since 2007.
Jeneba J. Bangura is the Deputy Commissioner-General for the Republic of Sierra Leone, National Revenue Authority (NRA). She is a Certified Public Accountant with a Masters Degree in Public Administration. She has over 25 years of Non-Profit Financial Leadership and Public Financial Management, Policy Development and Implementation and Internal Audit experiences in New York State and New York City Government, USA.
Pernille Mortensen is the Deputy Director at the Department of Multilateral Cooperation in Denmark
Penny Davies is Senior Policy Adviser on development finance at Diakonia, Sweden with a key focus on tax and domestic resource mobilization. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and development issues working as a consultant, for CSOs and international organizations. Her reports and articles have been published by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, the World Bank and the UNDP, amongst others.
Foto: Markus Marcetic/Diakonia
Lisa Sivertsen is Director of Politics and Society, Norwegian Church Aid. Previously she served as Deputy General Secretary and Head of Advocacy in CARE International Norway. Lisa has also worked in Amnesty International Norway as the Deputy Head of Communication. (moderator)
Foto: Norwegian Church Aid