Senate Republicans Balk At United Nations Plan Un Wants To Tax Foreign Air Travel, Mail, Currency Exchanges To Bolster Finances

Calling the United Nations power-hungry and “out of control,” key Senate Republicans have announced their opposition to plans for strengthening the body’s shaky finances.

Among the proposals being discussed by the 185 General Assembly members are plans to impose small taxes on international air travel tickets, mail and foreign currency transactions.

The proposals are supported by middle-power countries, some of which complain privately that “isolationist” sentiment in the Republican-controlled Congress threatens the United Nations and other international institutions.

In a statement Wednesday, Sen. Robert Dole, the Senate majority leader and frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, denounced the plan as “the latest of a series of outrageous attempts” to raise revenue outside the scrutiny of member states.

“The United Nations continues its out of control pursuit of power,” the statement said, adding that Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali appears to “want to head up an international Internal Revenue Service.”

Currently, the United Nations relies on member assessments to finance its worldwide operations. But so many countries have fallen behind in their payments that the United Nations ended 1995 with a $3 billion shortfall.

The United States, which pays the largest share, is also the biggest U.N. debtor, with nearly $1.3 billion in arrears. The U.S. Congress has been reluctant to fund what it considers wasteful U.N. programs and has demanded reform of the 50-year-old body.

Dole said Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee responsible for U.N. payments, and Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would hold hearings on the fund-raising proposals.

Dole said the Senate leaders would also ask the U.S. General Accounting Office to examine the plans for possible violations of American and international law.

“Concern over the grandiose aspirations of senior United Nations officials - including American citizens in senior U.N. positions - is shared by the vast majority of the American people,” the statement said.

“The Republican Congress will act to ensure the United Nations does not begin taxation without representation in 1996.”

U.N. spokesman Sylvana Foa said Thursday that the proposals for alternative funding enjoy wide international support and that U.N. finances would still remain under the control of member states.

“The bottom line is that the United Nations stands on the brink of financial collapse because of the failure of member states to meet their legal obligations,” Foa said.

U.N. supporters say the organization cannot implement meaningful reforms and carry out its missions until its financial house is in order.