Transcending 'Tax' Sovereignty and Tax Standardization : Three Questions

The Panama and Paradise Papers shocked the world by displaying the extent to which tax avoidance and evasion were running amok. That has led policymakers around the world to seek to standardize, harmonize, and globalize the tax system, at a domestic, bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels. Although countries stand ready to reap the rewards of the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, this Note poses several questions that complicate a simple narrative about standardization and its effects. First, is the "sovereignty" problem posed by tax standardization merely one about "tax sovereignty"? Second, how should we assess the desirability of a new tax standard with regards to distribution? Third, what might be lost through processes of standardization and what do similar processes in other areas of the law teach us about the effects of increased globalization?