Tax Justice

Emerging literature has established that there is a link between taxation and human rights. However, the nature of this link, the existence (or absence) of a coherent normative framework, and how taxation can be leveraged to foster the realization of socioeconomic rights have preoccupied the discussions in the literature. Notably, very few conversations in the literature have exclusively focused the discussion on taxpayers’ perspective in the global south. This is precisely the gap addressed by Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development: Global South Perspectives, edited by Eghosa O. Ekhator, Newman U. Richards, and Chisa Onyejekwe, and published by Routledge in 2025. As this review will demonstrate, this book makes a significant and timely contribution to the literature for several important reasons.

‘Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development- Global South Perspectives’ is an enjoyable and accessible read for those looking to understand more about domestic, regional, and international fiscal policy relevant to the human rights and sustainable development discourse.

Many discussions of human rights and economic policy feel aspirational, treating rights as guiding principles but stopping short of turning them into concrete legal or administrative action. The edited volume Taxation, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development: Global South Perspectives takes a different path. It digs into the hard work of turning human rights into working law and policy for taxation, viewed through experiences and priorities in the Global South.

Human rights play an integral role in State revenue sourcing and taxation in different parts of the world. For countries in the Global South, it should be an obligation to consider human rights in their tax policies and legislation as they need a sustainable revenue source to meet their socio-economic responsibilities (the welfare state) of which tax revenue is major slant. This goes to the foundations of a good tax system. Drawing lessons from the Global South, this book examines whether human rights can be invoked in the debate on creating effective tax regimes across the various jurisdictions.

Africa is unquestionably confronted with substantial development financing needs, which are further exacerbated by two independent, yet interrelated problems that are depleting the already scarce resources: illicit financial flows (IFFs) and a growing burden of unsustainable debt. To effectively tackle the complex challenges of Africa’s development; including achieving the SDGs, combating the effects of climate change, and resolving human rights issues; it is imperative to address IFF by promoting tax justice and to confront unsustainable debt through debt justice. Given the importance of establishing this link, this blog post delves into the challenges and nexus between IFF and unsustainable debt and provides high level policy recommendations.

This commentary responds to Fernando C. Saldivar's article 'Africa in the Economy of Francesco'. This commentary focuses on the author's main argument, which grows from the view that the tax justice movement needs to involve Catholic Social Teaching as an intellectual and moral ally in the fight for systemic reform in the global financial order. The article's main claim is critiqued on two fronts. Firstly, this commentary questions whether a moral backbone, particularly the Catholic moral niche, is sufficient to prevent tax evasion and tax avoidance by MNCs. And secondly, it is argued that the article could have advanced a deeper analysis if it had explored the nature of tax law from both the perspective of its 'spirit' aspect and its more technical aspects.