A deeper debate about the appropriate platform to advance the agenda was covered up by the first-ever unified declaration by G20 finance chiefs on Friday, wherein they pledged to work in order to properly tax the world’s richest fortunes.

The Group of 20 major nations’ finance ministers and central bankers decided to discuss fair taxation of “ultra-high-net-worth individuals” in their joint statement and in a separate statement on international tax cooperation that was released on Friday.

“We aim to collaborate in order to guarantee that extremely wealthy people are fairly taxed,” the final text of the G20 ministerial statement in Rio de Janeiro, which was seen by Reuters, stated.

But disagreements have already surfaced over whether to pursue that in negotiations at the UN or through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a consortium of affluent democracies established by friends in the US and Europe.

On the fringes of the G20 summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters that she thought the OECD, which oversaw discussions for a worldwide two-part corporation tax agreement over the previous three years, was better suited to lead such discussions.

Yellen stated, “We don’t want to see this shifted to the UN,” noting that the OECD “is a consensus-based organisation.” We’ve come a long way, and the UN lacks the technological know-how to continue this.”

The main indices on Wall Street concluded the day higher,

According to a person familiar with the situation, major developing countries have already objected to such strategy. They believe Brazil should use its G20 presidency to push for progress at the UN and OECD.

Prominent proponents of a worldwide minimum tax on billionaires, such as Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, maintained that the United Nations was the appropriate platform for international tax collaboration.

Susana Ruiz, Tax Policy Lead at Oxfam International, stated, “We call on G20 leaders to align with the progress being made at the UN and establish a truly democratic process for setting global standards on taxing the ultra-rich.”

“Entrusting this task to the OECD — the club of mostly rich countries — would simply not be good enough,” she stated.

According to Guilherme Mello, an official from the Brazilian Finance Ministry, the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation is a win for the “Global South” developing countries, who are primarily non-OECD members and hence want a forum where they can be more effectively represented.

Notwithstanding, Mello acknowledged the UN and the OECD as valid platforms, and he stated that any group that continues to debate the best way to impose taxes on the ultra-wealthy is a step in the right direction.

“The shape this will take depends on many dialogues that will be held,” he stated.

A global “billionaire tax” aimed at the richest people in the planet seemed unlikely, according to several commentators.

European authorities made the point that not even the 27-nation European Union have the ability to impose taxes collectively. German opposition to a worldwide minimum wealth tax has been strong, despite early backing from France.

“It appears that advancing this could be quite challenging,” a European representative stated during the G20 gathering.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)

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