The UN-Sponsored Multilateral Fast Track Instrument – Barking up the Wrong Tree?

Abstract

When it comes to bilateral tax treaties, there are those countries (primarily in the developed world) that follow the OECD Model, and those (mostly in the developing world, including the Global South) that follow the UN Model. To address this dichotomy between developed and developing countries – bipolarity to some – the United Nations is working on a Multilateral Fast-Track Instrument (MFTI), which would act much like the OECD’s Multilateral Instrument, albeit for a different purpose. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed reviews the touted benefits of the MFTI and explains why it is not only irrelevant, but also does not address the most pressing international tax issues facing the developing world.