The world must unite now Trump's threats to global tax reform have backfired

Donald Trump's Oval Office tirade last Friday laid bare his instinct to harangue and bully those even supposed allies such as Ukraine who dare to disagree.

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Countries pushing global tax reform at the UN will be watching as US demands for subjugation play out in plain sight. Trump's day-one threat to punish nations taxing US firms is an all-out attack on global fiscal cooperation. If multilateralism in taxation was already on shaky ground, Mr Trump's return could bury it for good.

Under discussion is a new UN tax convention that may permit states to tax economic activity where it actually occurs, rather than allowing multinationals to shift profits to tax havens. The Tax Justice Network (TJN) said last year that nations lose $492bn annually due to corporate tax abuse. The global south bears the greatest losses, which undermine public services.