News outlets report on negotiations taking place this week at the Third International Financing for Development conference (FFD3) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Agence France-Presse: Rich-poor tax dispute overshadows key U.N. development summit
“As the world grapples to find the cash to end poverty and battle climate change, African leaders at a global development summit being held in Ethiopia are pushing for rich multinational companies to stop dodging tax…” (Lebhour, 7/14).

The Guardian: Addis Ababa talks risk deadlock over U.N. agency for tax
“…The proposal to replace the United Nations expert committee on tax with a fully-fledged agency is seen by governments, multilateral agencies, and NGOs alike as the most important issue on the conference agenda, as it would give developing countries an equal say in global tax rules and help them combat tax avoidance and evasion. But international charities such as Action Aid have accused the rich nations, including the U.K., of blocking progress, and some say that the U.K. and U.S., among others, are now lobbying hard to prevent the creation of a U.N. agency to the point of risking deadlock in the talks…” (Anyangwe, 7/15).

SciDev.Net: Search for common ground on development finance
“…Developed nations want to push poor countries to improve their own tax systems to raise more money to spend on basic services. Developing countries want the U.N. Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters to be made the main negotiation body. This, they hope, will make OECD countries less dominant when it comes to deciding international tax regimes…” (Vesper, 7/14).