The international governance of corporate tax avoidance: A paradigm shift from tax competition to international cooperation?

Since the 1970s, constraints on public revenues have resulted in a policy condition of austerity while tax competition has induced governments to retrench welfare programs, rather than enhance tax revenues. Yet, after the global financial crisis, governments intensified efforts to increase tax revenues, through international measures to combat corporate tax avoidance and evasion. These efforts complement, rather than replace, the earlier focus on retrenchment but may have the potential to reduce pressures of austerity in the medium term. The article investigates three initiatives at international tax policy coordination, with the aim of assessing their potential to limit tax competition and to generate revenue increases.