New ICLE Issue Brief Challenges the Case for Global Tax Harmonization
PORTLAND, Ore. (July 24, 2026) — International efforts to impose minimum corporate tax rates weaken economic growth, national sovereignty, and democratic accountability, according to a new issue brief from the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE).
Authored by ICLE Senior Scholar Julian Morris, the brief examines the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 15% global minimum corporate tax, European Union tax blacklists, and negotiations toward a United Nations tax convention. These initiatives seek to limit competition among countries over tax rates and rules.
“Tax competition pressures governments to improve their laws, control spending, and avoid taxes that drive investment elsewhere,” Morris said. “Global tax harmonization weakens that discipline and transfers authority away from voters and national legislatures.”
The brief finds little evidence for the claimed “race to the bottom” in government revenue. Average statutory corporate tax rates across OECD countries fell from about 47% in 1980 to roughly 23% in 2023. During that period, corporate-tax revenue remained stable or increased, while total taxes as a share of gross domestic product rose.
Research also indicates that corporate taxes reduce investment, productivity, economic growth, and wages. Several studies find that workers bear much of the corporate-tax burden through lower compensation.
“The promised collapse in tax revenue never occurred,” Morris said. “Corporate rates declined while governments continued to collect more revenue overall. The global minimum tax would suppress a form of competition that has encouraged investment and restrained one of the taxes most harmful to workers and growth.”
Morris argues that the harmonization campaign has gained support through a coalition of high-tax governments, international organizations, advocacy groups, public-sector unions, foundations, and affiliated researchers. Their interests differ, but their work supports common tax rules and higher taxes on corporations and capital.
The brief recommends abandoning the OECD global minimum tax, rejecting the proposed U.N. tax convention, limiting the EU blacklist to genuine secrecy and unlawful evasion, and ending government funding for advocacy organizations that campaign for tax harmonization.
The full issue brief can be downloaded here. To arrange an interview with Morris, contact R.J. Lehmann at [email protected].
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that promotes the use of law and economics methodology to inform public policy debates. ICLE produces academic research, policy papers, regulatory comments, and public commentary on a wide range of issues at the intersection of law, economics, and technology. For more information, visit laweconcenter.org.