The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has just issued a much-awaited and historic statement: for the first time, it explicitly recognises that states must tackle inequality and guarantee rights through fair tax policies. Reported by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)
The statement is ambitious and sets a new global standard: states must adopt progressive tax systems, eliminate tax privileges and avoid regressive taxes that hit those with the least the hardest.
A transformational shift in global tax cooperation
Civil society has pushed for this recognition for years. Now, the Committee makes it explicitly clear that taxation is a matter of human rights and social justice.
The text also introduces an unprecedented and transformational recognition: international financial institutions (IFIs) also have human rights obligations. They must assess how their recommendations affect states’ ability to finance rights, particularly in the context of heavily indebted countries.
Some parts of the statement build on years of work by civil society coalitions, including the Initiative for Human Rights in Fiscal Policy, of which we are a member. The organ responsible for interpreting and implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in 1966, has now formally recognised that fiscal policy must comply with economic, social and cultural rights obligations.
The challenge ahead
With this recognition, the legal conversation on taxation and rights takes on new strength. The challenge now is to ensure that this innovative normative standard translates into tangible action by states to materialise the economic, social and cultural rights of their populations.
Read the full statement here.
Original source: Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)
Image credit: Mathias Reding Unsplash
