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distribution is the key channel for poverty reduction.44 In most economies, the redistribution
achieved through income taxes is even higher than for means-tested social transfers.45
39. Moreover, when revenue is used to finance public services, it creates conditions
propitious to growth and employment in formal sectors of the economy, guaranteeing both
equality of access and equality of opportunities.46 Public services also mitigate the impact
of skewed income distribution and directly contribute to reducing inequality. 47
40. Promoting economic growth is also a primary and legitimate concern of State fiscal
policies. Progressive taxation can, however, help Governments to achieve more sustainable
growth and to distribute the fruits of prosperity more fairly. Indeed, a recent study by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) found that the combined direct and indirect effects of
redistribution, including the growth effects of the resulting lower inequality, are on average
pro-growth.48 Many developing countries have experienced significant economic growth in
recent decades, although without a proportionate reduction in poverty or inequality,
indicating that the benefits of growth have been concentrated in the hands of a few. This is
in large part because the proceeds of growth have not been adequately taxed and
redistributed, leading to a concentration of wealth that has considerable negative
implications for human rights, social cohesion and future economic growth prospects.49
41. The Special Rapporteur explores three key areas in which government revenue-raising
policies or practices can facilitate the enjoyment of human rights below.
A.
Generating revenue for the realization of rights
42. The most straightforward way in which government revenues can facilitate compliance
with human rights obligations is by providing resources for public goods, such as education
and health services – goods that are critical to realizing human rights and that ultimately
benefit the whole of society.
43. The quality, accessibility and availability of goods and services needed for the
realization of human rights, such as the rights to an adequate standard of living, health,
education and social security, will hinge on the resources that the State is able to collect.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), strengthening tax systems is vital to guarantee the right to education. Many of
the countries furthest from achieving the widespread enjoyment of the right to education do
not, however, tap their tax bases sufficiently.50
44. Low levels of revenue collection have a disproportionate impact on the poorest
segments of the population and constitute a major obstacle to the capacity of the State to
finance public services and social programmes. A lack of access to quality services is a
constituent element of poverty, and people living in poverty are particularly dependent on
public services, being unable to pay for private alternatives. In addition, their specific needs
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Abbas Grammy and Djeto Assane, “The Poverty-Growth-Inequality Triangle Hypothesis: an
Empirical Examination”, Journal of Policy Modelling, 16 November 2006.
IMF, Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality (see footnote 43), p. 16.
ECLAC, Time for Equality (see footnote 42) p. 225.
Oxfam International, Working for the Many: Public services fight inequality, 3 April 2014.
Jonathan D. Ostry, Andrew Berg and Charalambos G. Tsangarides, “Redistribution, Inequality and
Growth”, IMF Staff Discussion Note, February 2014.
Tax Justice Network Africa and Christian Aid, “Africa rising? Inequalities and the essential role of
fair taxation”, February 2014.
UNESCO, 2013/4 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, – “Teaching and learning: achieving
quality for all”, p. 116.
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