A/HRC/31/61 allegations, undue removal from office, criminalization, freezing or confiscation of assets or arbitrary deprivation of property or detention (see A/HRC/28/60, para. 22). 22. It is also worth emphasizing the connections between tax abuse and the principle of equality and non-discrimination contained in international human rights law, economic inequality and sustainable development. A. Equality and non-discrimination 23. The principles of equality and non-discrimination are enshrined in all core international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Under article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, each State Party is required to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Covenant are guaranteed to all individuals under its jurisdiction without discrimination. In general comment No. 20 (E/C.12/GC/20), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights elaborates that “[n]on-discrimination and equality are fundamental components of international human rights law and essential to the exercise and enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights” and “[t]he principles of nondiscrimination and equality are recognized throughout the Covenant”. 24. Tax abuse by corporations and high net-worth individuals forces Governments to raise revenue from other sources, including through regressive taxes, the burden of which falls hardest on the poor (see A/HRC/26/28, para. 60). This has important human rights implications because regressive tax structures limit the redistributive impact of social programmes since they effectively end up being funded by the very people they are supposed to benefit. The need to make up revenue shortfalls through regressive taxes thus further undermines the realization of economic and social rights for the most vulnerable. 25. This has further implications for gender equality. When low-income households face deteriorating public services, many women and girls are forced to take on the additional costs of unpaid care needs. Moreover, tax systems themselves are not gender neutral and regressive taxes, such as consumption taxes, tend to disproportionately fall on women (see A/HRC/26/28, para. 46). In both cases, regressive taxes and their effects threaten to undermine substantive equality for women. 26. Finally, high levels of tax abuse undermine the principle of equality and nondiscrimination, given that evaders end up paying less than taxpayers with the same, or less, capacity to pay (see A/HRC/28/60, para. 26 and A/HRC/26/28, para. 60). B. Economic inequality 27. In addition, tax abuse perpetuates and exacerbates extreme economic inequality, benefiting the rich at the expense of the poor. While human rights law does not necessarily imply a perfectly equal distribution of income and wealth, it does require that resources in a society are distributed such that individuals are guaranteed equal enjoyment of their basic 8