In the last week, on May 22 and 23, Brasilia host a meeting between the G20 Financial Track Presidency and civil society organizations. The debates will be on international taxation. For the first time, the chair of the Track, led by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, was willing to receive a document with eleven recommendations from civil society on the subject.
The proposals were drawn up by more than 40 national, Latin American and international organizations, which have been meeting since February. They all worked together to draw up the proposals for the G20 finance ministers.
For Nathalie Beghin, a member of the Management Board of Inesc (Institute for Socio-Economic Studies), the meeting provides an opportunity to open dialogues on solutions in the interests of people and the planet. “It’s important to build interactive spaces to channel demands and formulate proposals, guaranteeing accountability and social participation in international cooperation on fiscal policy,” says the expert, who was directly involved in drawing up the recommendations.
Access the full document with the Civil Society Recommendations on International Taxation for G20 Finance Ministers
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The 11 recommendations listed by civil society have been divided into three parts and can be summarized as follows:
International Tax Governance
1. Support the creation and implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UNFCITC).
2. Ensure civil society participation in tax debates and tax decision-making processes.
Overarching values and guiding principles
3. Incorporate human rights, socio environmental and climate obligations as overarching principles to guide and inform tax decision-making.
4. Decolonize standards on taxation by adopting criteria and measures which promote equity between countries, jurisdictions and regions, and compensate developmental differences and imbalances of power.
5. Incorporate a gender and race/ethnicity approach to tax policies to fight gender and race/ethnicity inequalit
Substantive reforms
6. Include in the UNFCITC the creation of a global minimum tax on the super-rich
7. Include in the UNFCITC the creation of a Financial Transactions Tax
8. Promote international tax cooperation to facilitate a just and equitable climate transition, including by fostering more equitable trade and investment globally.
9. Support multilateral taxes to finance climate, environmental and social justice.
10. Shift resources from tax incentives for fossil fuels to the fight against hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality, and to promote climate justice and just energy transition.
11. Enhance existing efforts on exchange of information and tax transparency, and work towards the creation of a Global Asset Registry within the UNFCITC.
The seminar organized by the Ministry of Finance, which will take place at the University of Brasilia, is being seen as a milestone in civil society organizations’ fight for tax justice, reflecting their commitment to influencing public policies in a meaningful and responsible way.
>> Access the full program of the Civil Society Meeting on G20 and International Taxation here <<
