On 28 February, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued a landmark statement highlighting the role of tax justice in pursuing human rights and its relevance to achieving the objectives of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Although the Committee has previously highlighted the close relationship between fair taxation and the realization of ESCR and human rights, as our member organization CESR reported, a formal statement by this body comes at a time when global inequalities are rapidly increasing and changing the rules of the game by clarifying to the signatory states of the Covenant that human rights are not outside fiscal policy.
In particular, the statement guides designing fair national tax systems and strengthening cooperation towards the objectives of the ICESCR. The Committee recalls that no tax system should negatively affect the standard of living of marginalized and impoverished groups, as is done with excessive collections of indirect taxes. It also stresses the creation of mechanisms to collect from multinationals and the so-called “super-rich” to reduce inequalities and ensure compliance with the duties acquired in ESCR.
In addition, the statement highlights the need for these systems to promote substantive equality and apply a gender approach to avoid burdening the most vulnerable women. Likewise, taxation also facilitates the transformation of the labor market and allows more women to enter it.
Why is this statement important now?
Last year, the UN General Assembly approved the terms of reference of the UN Tax Convention, which explicitly referred to the duty of any agreement to promote the duty of states to finance, provide for, and expand the scope of human rights. In addition, the outcome documents of the Summit of the Future, which serve as a guide for projects seeking to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, recognize that current tax governance structures need improvement.
The Initiative and its member organizations had requested this statement a year ago and welcome the Committee’s commitment to strengthening tax justice. As the Committee said in its statement, we hope this becomes the opportunity to build global tax governance that will enable ICESCR signatory states to adopt fair, inclusive, and effective tax systems that curb illicit financial flows related to evasion.
