FM Sitharaman calls for global cooperation to address new tax challenges at Global Forum meeting

NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the global economy is facing new and complex challenges arising from the digitalisation of economic activity and the emergence of new financial products, and stressed that these issues require joint action by all jurisdictions.

Addressing the 18th Global Forum Plenary Meeting in Delhi, the Finance Minister said that “there are new challenges that call for joint action,” pointing specifically to the digitalisation of the economy, the emergence of new financial products and the evolving structures of beneficial ownership.

She said, “There are new challenges that call for joint action, the digitalization of the economy, the emergence of new financial products and evolving structures of beneficial ownership, require continued cooperation between jurisdictions”.

Sitharaman emphasised that confidentiality and cybersecurity must be maintained with great care as countries work together to improve information sharing. She said these are not challenges that any one country can address alone, adding that they demand coordination, trust and a timely exchange of relevant information.

The 18th Global Forum Plenary Meeting is an international conference focused on tax transparency and the fight against offshore tax evasion through international cooperation. The meeting is hosted by the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) and is taking place from December 2-4, 2025, in New Delhi.

“In a global economy where interdependence is a fact of life, stable and trusted relationships between jurisdictions are indispensable,” she said.
The minister stressed that the collective focus must remain on fairness, sustainability and public trust in the integrity of tax systems.

Sitharaman highlighted that the goal should be to ensure that all jurisdictions are able to participate fully and comfortably within the international framework. She said that within India, efforts have been made to integrate exchanged information with broader analysis of compliance and risk.

Highlighting the principle behind India’s approach, the minister said that even though countries come from different jurisdictions and traditions, they are united by a shared purpose, to encourage lawful economic activity, discourage evasion and ensure that societies grow with dignity.

Sitharaman said the Global Forum itself stands as evidence that cooperation in tax matters is not only possible but also beneficial, achievable and necessary for the current global financial environment.

She added that the world has undergone a major shift from a system constrained by secrecy and limited access to information to one where transparency is increasingly recognised as essential to fairness, compliance and responsible governance.

This shift, she noted, did not happen automatically but through collective resolve, openness to reform and the sustained work of institutions such as the Global Forum.

“For India, transparency in tax matters has always gone beyond administrative reform,” she said, adding that it rests on a deeper principle that economic governance must be built on fairness and responsibility. (ANI)