Organised by APMDD, the webinar was co-hosted by the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), and the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies. Leaders and members of grassroots organizations from various sectors introduced the concept of, and rationale for, a wealth tax as a domestic resource mobilization mechanism for social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for climate change adaptation.
The Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) welcomes the support of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for calls for a UN Tax Convention, recently reiterated by Finance Ministers in Africa and by civil society organizations across the world. This is a step in the right direction towards fixing the fundamental flaws of the international tax architecture and upholds the rights of Global South countries not only to their tax and fiscal sovereignty, but also to raise revenues and rebuild economies in the face of multiple crises that have sharpened under the COVID-19 pandemic.
The undervaluation of care and care work is reflected in the gross imbalances and gaps in national budgets and lack of publicly funded care services, support systems for care workers, and physical and social infrastructures needed to reduce and redistribute care work. Care – caring for families, communities, and society as a whole – is an essential need and function of any society; it is not “just a woman’s responsibility,” but the collective responsibility of society.
The Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) advances a comprehensive agenda for tax and gender justice that takes into account the multiple and intersecting layers of discrimination that women in Asia face. The issue brief explains how burdensome Value-added tax (VAT), Goods and Services tax (GST) and Excise tax are to women and all unpaid care workers and has become imperative to advance our five (5) calls and demands.
During the webinar speakers discussed perspectives and demands of movements in the global South for debt cancelation and debt relief, as well as for tax justice to respond to multiple crises and rising inequalities, looking at both cases of national tax agendas and the global tax architecture.
Currently, a third of the world’s countries are not at the table when global tax rules get decided. It’s time for the United Nations to take the lead, so all countries can participate on an equal footing.
Click here to learn more about the proposal for a UN Tax Convention.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub on domestic resource mobilization and international tax cooperation in 2021. The stated objective under “international tax cooperation” is to promote tax initiatives of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a club of mostly high-income countries.
This explicit design and rationale of the Asia Pacific Tax Hub is extremely concerning considering the long history of criticism by developing countries, including in Asia, of OECD tax standards being biased and unfair.
Several Asian countries are not part of these OECD forums. For instance, the ADB notes that 26 of the 46 ADB developing members are not part of the OECD BEPS Inclusive Framework. (BEPS stands for “base erosion and profit shifting.”)
Read the full opinion piece (via Asia Times)
On 15-22 January 2022, APMDD and its members participated in the Global Protest to Fight Inequality (initiated by the Fight Inequality Alliance). This included activities in Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines, around the theme “It’s Time to Tax the Rich”.
Actions ranged from protests by workers and union leaders in the Philippines and dances to the tune of “We Will Tax You” (see Facebook Live stream above), a children’s art exhibit in Pakistan, a human chain in Bangladesh, a package of activities from movie screenings to talk shows, declarations and mural installations in Indonesia, and a discussion forum bringing together around 70 activists, thinkers and leaders in India.
Further details on the actions can be found in this article.
At a critical time when tax revenues are gravely needed to fund essential public services and meet sustainable development targets, anti-poor tax policies and illicit financial flows have only deepened widespread inequalities within and among countries in the world.
Read and download the manifesto:
Lidy Nacpil of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (center) presses for new tax rules to be negotiated in a proposed United Nations Tax Body. Labor Leader Ka Leody De Guzman (left) calls for the scrapping of VAT and institution of a wealth tax in the country. Sanlakas Secretary General, Atty. Aaron Pedrosa, moderated the press conference.
The Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) today slammed the 15% minimum global corporate tax rate jointly proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), G7, and G20, calling it the “tax deal of the rich” and instead called for the creation of a tax body under the United Nations (UN).
“Under the guise of, or pretending to be helpful as part of COVID-19 and multiple crises responses, the OECD, which is the organization of 37 wealthiest countries in the world, in collusion with the G7 and G20, are now putting forward and promoting a tax deal that will actually result in more benefits for corporations and governments of wealthy countries rather than the Global South,” APMDD coordinator Lidy Nacpil said.
“We are taking this occasion to express our rejection because in a few hours, the G20 will be convening its summit, and this is an important time to raise our voices,” she added.
