A/HRC/43/45/Add.2 71. The General Taxation Law was also amended and concerns were raised about the reduction of the statute of limitations for tax crimes to four years.77 The Independent Expert is also particularly concerned about the recurrent adoption of tax amnesty laws and about the fact that information on taxes and taxpayers who benefit from these amnesties is unavailable. It is worth highlighting that the IMF recommended that Mongolia should avoid establishing tax amnesty schemes and consider alternatives such as payment instalment agreements, voluntary disclosure programmes, simplification of the tax policy regime and strengthening of the legal framework.78 72. Of specific concern is the proposal by IMF in a recent paper to consider the reintroduction of a pasture tax, aimed at reducing herd size and in turn helping reduce land degradation and wealth inequality, and the introduction of incentives, aimed at boosting product quality and productivity.79 While IMF recommends exempting small- and mediumscale herders from such a pasture tax, it is essential to highlight the importance of access to pastureland for nomadic herder communities, for both their subsistence and their traditional activities.80 Should the Government decide to consider this proposal, the authorities should conduct a human rights impact assessment,81 in consultation with communities potentially affected, before going any further. 73. Observers have underscored the considerable share of the shadow economy in Mongolia: despite the unemployment rate being on a downward trend, a rise in informal employment has been noted over recent years. The Government should consider conducting a study in order to assess the importance of untapped fiscal revenue and ensure more robust and sustainable tax mobilization and tax collection while ensuring potential accountability. B. Efforts to prevent and combat illicit financial flows 74. The notion of illicit financial flows includes a range of phenomena, from tax evasion and tax avoidance by transnational corporations to money-laundering, bribery, corruption and other criminal activities.82 1. Tax-related and anti-money-laundering measures 75. The Independent Expert commends the Government for having joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in 2018, and the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. 76. The Asia/Pacific Group on Money-Laundering, in its second follow-up report on antimoney-laundering and counter-terrorist measures, highlighted the considerable progress made by Mongolia in terms of technical compliance and upgraded the status of 16 recommendations. Issues leading to the categorization of Mongolia as a “grey list” country were also raised, paying particular attention to areas that were not subjected to a compliance upgrade, including issues related to money or value transfer services and money-laundering sanctions. The Independent Expert encourages the Government to continue its efforts to tackle circumstances allowing unlicensed or unregistered money or value transfer services to continue operating in such conditions.83 77. Mongolia was just “grey listed” by the Financial Action Task Force for presenting serious deficiencies in terms of measures to combat money-laundering and the financing of 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 14 EY, “Mongolia reforms its key tax legislation”, 4 June. IMF, Mongolia: Selected Issues (Washington, D.C., 2019), p. 7. Ibid., p. 23. See ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), art. 14. See guiding principles (A/HRC/40/57), principle 11, particularly para. 11.6. See A/HRC/31/61. Asia/Pacific Group on Money-Laundering, “2nd follow-up report: mutual evaluation of Mongolia”, Financial Action Task Force, October 2019. Available at www.fatfgafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/fur/APG-Follow-Up-Report-Mongolia-2019.pdf.