On April 17, together with partners we convened a high-level discussion titled ‘The Path for Taxing the Super-Rich – Towards a Progressive Global Taxation Agenda During the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The event took place in Washington DC and featured a panel discussion including Dr Joseph Stiglitz, co-chair of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT); Chenai Mukumba, Executive Director of Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA); Dr Gabriel Zucman, Director of the EU Tax Observatory and ICRICT Commissioner; Dr Guilherme Mello, Secretary of Economic Policy at the Ministry of Finance of Brazil; Dr Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Dr Ndzana Olomo Patrick, Policy Officer at the African Union; and Dr Katherine Baer, Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The conversation addressed the growing momentum for a redefinition of the global taxation architecture on the basis of undismissible extreme wealth accumulation in the hands of a few. Such phenomena lead to an exacerbated concentration of financial and political power, which is currently undermining both economic growth and the quality of our democracies. A burgeoning consensus on a global minimum tax on multinational’s profits, added to the establishment of a coordinated global wealth taxation agenda taxing the ultra-rich and tackling tax evasion, were all discussed throughout the panel, emphasising their potential for improving revenues for public goods and climate financing.

Concrete policy proposals specifically addressed a need for broadening fiscal space through the taxation of those with more capacity to contribute. In that regard, a coordinated minimum tax on global billionaires was discussed, gaining endorsement from many panellists. This is specially significant in the context of Brazil’s presidency of the G20, laying the foundation for concrete expectations towards moving a step further in this agenda through the government’s invitation to Dr Gabriel Zucman to present a blueprint report on his proposal of a 2% income tax towards the ultra-rich to G20 countries in June.

Experts also highlighted the social dimensions of income inequality and the specific vulnerabilities of developing countries towards the climate crisis. In that regard, a progressive taxation agenda was considered a pivotal tool to implement an effective transfer of resources from Global North countries towards their counterparts in the Global South, thereby paving the ground for a just transition which takes into account existing and historical inequalities in both fiscal availability and degrees of responsibility towards the climate crisis.

Regarding the negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, experts agreed upon the potential of this legal instrument as a catalyst for a global reallocation of resources needed towards redressing inequalities and addressing climate change. Hence, they highlighted the necessity of building consensus and powerful regional representation to bring the realities of the Global South to the discussion table.

To conclude, panellists addressed the need to move away from the predominant neoliberal paradigm within the international taxation architecture and transition towards a new model which effectively aims at the reallocation of burdens and resources to achieve more sustainable, egalitarian and productive societies.