Denmark

Doubling support to DRM in partner countries

In 2017, the Danish  portfolio in support of domestic revenue mobilisation was integrated in country-specific programmes, mainly as part of public financial management programmes. Few regional contributions to the Tax Justice Network (TJN) and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) were finalised in 2017. In 2018, an allocation of USD 5.24 million was shared between the Revenue Mobilisation Thematic Fund (RMTF) of the IMF and the World Bank Global Tax Programme (GTP). In 2019, Denmark plans similar contributions to the  IMF and the World Bank.

The tax portfolio at the country level remains the same. The contributions to civil society organisations (CSOs) has ceased. After 2018, the allocation for tax initiatives in the Danish budget for official development assistance (ODA) has increased and the cooperation concentrated on multilateral trust funds managed by the World Bank and the IMF. In parallel, the Danish Tax Authorities signed an agreement with the IMF on the exchange of technical assistance in support, for instance of the RMTF.

The Danish Strategy for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, approved in 2017, makes a direct reference to the Addis Ababa Agreement commitment to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the partner countries’ national and local tax systems.

Policy coherence for development and outlook

From 1 August 2019 onwards, the Danish government will carry out impact analyses on those proposals for new legislation that are considered relevant for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, an analysis of the expected impacts on global development and partner countries could be carried out, if estimating these can be done without major challenges. Furthermore, an inter-ministerial working group meets to ensure exchange between different agencies. Denmark’s prospects are good due to a recent considerable increase of budget towards Danish contributions to tax and development through multilateral organisations.