An international development levy on multinational corporations

Abstract

This paper argues that the Multinational Corporations (MNC's) help generate global income disparities by exploiting the underprivileged populations in the Less Developed Countries (LDC's) for the benefit of the affluent groups, and that one practical method for rectifying this inequity is to impose a Development Levy on MNCs to finance egalitarian development in LDCs. The proposed Development Levy on MNCs would not only promote greater global equity, but also ensure the continued survival and growth of NMCs. Indeed, the proposal would go a long way toward the promotion of global equity, envisaged in the New International Economic Order (NIEO), without necessitating any major dislocation or restructuring of the world trade system.