Chapter 4 | Page 143 4.2.1 Tax Revenue Taxation is one of the most important policy tools for raising government revenue, as well as the most powerful redistributive tool of macroeconomic policy. For these reasons, despite the remarkable shift in the tax-base and the ability of developing States to maximise tax revenue as a result of globalisation, trade liberalisation and financial openness,7 taxation remains one of the few objective measures of the power and legitimacy of the State.8 The level of tax income depends on a number of policy fundamentals, including the types of taxation, tax rates and the efficiency of tax collection. Many developing countries have fewer types of tax, lower rates and inefficient tax collection capacity,9 which is often due to lack of technical and human resource capacity. Governments are also subjected to ‘elite capture’, when pressure from a small elite of wealthy individuals and corporations results in reluctance to implement a wide-ranging, comprehensive taxation regime.10 These factors will be addressed later in this chapter and in Chapter 8 in relation to resource management and governance. A spectrum of taxes is available to governments, with each type presenting its own challenges in terms of the amount of revenue it can generate and the associated economic and social impacts. While some of these taxes may have a direct bearing on human rights, especially via redistribution and equity, the key concern in this discussion is the revenue potential of individual tax types from the perspective of resource mobilisation for ESC rights. 7 For some examples and discussions, see Joshua Aizenman and Yothin Jinjarak, 'Globalization and Developing Countries - a Shrinking Tax Base?' (2009) 45(5) The Journal of Development Studies 653-671, 14. 8 Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, 'Taxation and development : A review of donor support to strengthen tax systems in developing countries' (WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/010, United Nations University), 10. 9 Isabel Ortiz, Jingqing Chai and Matthew Cummins, 'Identifying Fiscal Space: Options for Social and Economic Development for Children and Poor Households in 182 Countries' (Social And Economic Policy Working Paper - October 2011, Unicef), 13. 10 See for example, Daron Acemoglu, 'Institutions, Factor Prices, and Taxation: Virtues of Strong States?' (2010) Papers & Proceedings(100) American Economic Review 115–119.