UNDP endorses the Coalition on Tax Expenditure Reform

Led by five major international think tanks, the coalition supports long-term, systemic reforms of tax expenditures worldwide.

In April 2026, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has formally declared its endorsement of the Coalition on Tax Expenditure Reform (COATE). An initiative of five major international think tanks – Council on Economic Policies (CEP), German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and ODI Global, the Coalition was launched in 2025 at the Fourth International Financing for Development Conference as a “Sevilla Platform for Action” initiative. So far, COATE has been endorsed by the governments of Brazil, France, Guinea, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

UNDP is the first international organisation to officially support the Coalition. As Orria Goñi, Head of Public Finance for SDGs at the Sustainable Finance Hub of UNDP observes: “Tax expenditure reform sits at the heart of our ongoing work on fiscal policy coherence, and we believe COATE is well positioned to bring together exactly the kind of complementary expertise — analytical, policy-facing, and country-grounded — that can translate this mandate into meaningful results“.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have UNDP on board”, says IDOS‘ Christian von Haldenwang, one of the co-founders of the Tax Expenditures Lab. “UNDP has a strong portfolio of fiscal policy support and is present in more than 170 countries worldwide. We see a huge potential for joint activities on tax expenditure rationalisation and reform”.