There are officials at the United Nations and in some national governments who believe that the best way to address global poverty is by the UN imposing its own taxes on individuals and businesses around the world, and to mandate aid levels for all countries. The UN would use these taxes and some of the aid contributions to fund its own programs. These officials are supported by academics at prestigious institutions, such as Harvard University, and by some of the world’s richest individuals, including financier George Soros.
The idea of global taxation was first actively promoted at the United Nations in 1996 by then Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who saw UN taxes as a way for the organization to get around the constraints imposed by dependence on member-state contributions, the current source of funding. Some of the taxation ideas debated by the UN include taxing international air travel, international currency transactions and the Internet, arguing that these occupy space beyond national jurisdictions.
The United States Freedom Fund (USFF) is opposed to all forms of global taxation, and views them as an infringement on national sovereignty. After all, America was established in part to free its citizens from foreign taxation, and the Constitution of the United States grants the power of taxation to the US Congress.