A/HRC/26/28 avoidance or evasion of taxation by other actors, for instance through structured finance instruments,94 transfer pricing or profit shifting (see paras. 74 – 78 below). 69. Low tax demands of the financial sector and lack of regulation may therefore be indicative of a State’s unwillingness (rather than inability) to use its maximum available resources. Increasing taxation of the financial sector could play a role in redressing this balance and discourage the excessive risk-taking that led to the crisis.95 Taxes on certain types of financial transactions have been introduced in various jurisdictions (including in India, Peru, South Korea and Sweden) as a way to raise revenue from the financial sector as well as to deter speculative trading activities that generate risks for the whole of society (in the form of crises or fluctuations in food/fuel prices). This measure could also enable States to better comply with several human rights obligations, in particular those regarding economic, social and cultural rights.96 E. Ensuring sustainable use of natural resources while respecting rights 70. Natural resources can be a vital source of revenue that the State can use to comply with its human rights obligations. The financial and social benefits of natural resource exploitation are, however, increasingly bypassing people in producing countries. In most countries, extractive industries generate few jobs directly and have only weak links to local markets. 97 Far from bringing benefits, the exploitation of natural resources has been frequently linked to human rights abuse and encroachment on lands and livelihoods of communities, mass evictions, pollution and environmental degradation, which may result in violations of rights to health, food, housing and water.98 The right of people to participate in decisions regarding natural resources is often violated, especially where the land, territory and resources of indigenous peoples is concerned. 71. In addition, the rightful benefits in terms of revenue often go abroad (sometimes to tax havens),99 aided by the fact that extractive industries are often not required to disclose their profits on a project-by-project basis. The public revenue generated through taxes on the sector remains well below potential;100 the revenue secured by many resource-rich countries is very low in relation to the value of exports.101 72. A State allowing or directly undertaking exploitation of natural resources without ensuring that a fair share of the proceeds are taxed and/or allocated towards fulfilling human rights could be an indication of a failure to mobilize adequate resources. Moreover, 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 18 OECD Forum on Tax Administration, Building Transparent Tax Compliance by Banks, 13 July 2009. As mentioned in several responses to the questionnaire distributed by the Special Rapporteur. See Department of Economic and Social Affairs, The potential of financial transaction taxes for development financing, Policy Brief No. 38, July 2012. See “A global financial transaction tax, a human rights imperative now more than ever”, 14 May 2012; and Righting Finance Initiative, Financial Transaction Tax: A Human Rights Imperative, No. 3, 2012. Africa Progress Panel, Africa Progress Report 2013: Equity in Extractives, p. 63. See ibid. and A/HRC/18/35. Africa Progress Panel, Africa Progress Report (see footnote 97), p. 60. See UNECA and African Union, Minerals and Africa’s Development, 2011, p. 92; and ibid., p. 63. See Africa Progress Panel, Africa Progress Report (see footnote 97), p. 64.