Chapter 3 | Page 107
scrutinised for their impact on ESC rights realisation. In this context, Inge Kaul
and Pedro Conceição discuss the interrelationship between public finance and
national policy, with particular emphasis on how globalisation affects the ability
of the State to deliver the public services.28 This is where State activism in
relation to fiscal policy comes into play.
The undercurrents of globalisation significantly impact on the ability of the
State to shape human rights and social policy, particularly in relation to
command over resources for the implementation of these policies. Increased
globalisation and the business activities of multinational corporations have
created further challenges for developing countries in the area of revenue
generation, especially in relation to tax evasion and avoidance by large
multinationals.29 It is argued that the existing rules and policy environment are
insufficient to address these issues.30 Hence, stronger rule-based tax laws and
governance systems are essential at both national and international levels.31
These developments necessitate all States, especially developing States, to
take a more active stance in re-shaping the policy environment to maximise
their control over resources and policies in order to ensure the effective
implementation of human rights policies. In the face of the diminishing power
of States to control and direct their own destiny in the face of transnational
28
Inge Kaul and Pedro Conceição, 'Why Revisit Public Finance Today?' in Inge Kaul and
Pedro Conceição (eds), The New Public Finance: Responding to Global Challenges (The
United Nations Development Programme, New York, 2006) 1, 1.
29
See for example, Wolfgang Obenland, 'Taxes and human rights' (Policy brief of the Tax
Justice Network Germany, Tax Justice Network Germany; Christian Aid, 'Financing
people-centred sustainable development' (Position Paper, Christian Aid, January 2015),
<http://www.christianaid.org.uk/Images/financing-people-centred-sustainable%20development-january-2015.pdf>; ActionAid International, The Elephant in the Room:
How to Finance our Future (ActionAid, Johannesburg, 2014), <http://www.actionaid.org
/sites/files/actionaid/the_elephant_in_the_room_-_how_to_finance_our_future.pdf>.
30
For example, Joel Slemrod, 'Cheating Ourselves: The Economics of Tax Evasion' (2007)
21(1) Journal of Economic Perspectives 25-48; Timothy Besley and Torsten Persson,
'Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?' (2014) 28(4) ibid.99-120; Grahame Dowling,
'The Curious Case of Corporate Tax Avoidance: Is it Socially Irresponsible?' (2014) 124(1)
Journal of Business Ethics 173-184.
31
Various aspects of taxation, tax evasion and avoidance are discussed in detail in Chapter
4.
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