To the tune of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Philippine tax justice groups denounced mining corporations singing “Are You Really the Santa Claus They Say You Are?” in a rally in front of the Bureau of Internal Revenue last November 19.
♫ A bearer of gifts, they say, you are
But what a pittance, they turn out to be ♪
Are you really, the Santa Claus they say…
The campaign for tax justice in the extractive industry in the country is part of an economic justice agenda that includes the call to make taxes work for people and the planet.
Without a human rights-based alternative to austerity, many countries will find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of self-defeating fiscal adjustments, instability and unsustainable debts.
Debt audits can be a powerful tool to support civil society engagement in citizen assessment of debt impacts but also to increase citizens’ participation in public finance governance, leading to an increase in accountability and transparency and allowing for the identification of illegitimate debts at the national, regional and municipal level.
This briefing is a general introduction to debt audits, what they can contribute and their main characteristics, while also providing references to manuals and articles on debt audits. It is intended to support civil society organisations (CSOs) and government officials that are thinking about promoting a debt audit by providing some initial ideas about how to initiate this kind of process.
“Rewrite the Rules, Make Taxes Work for Women” is a theme song produced by the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) for its campaign on tax and gender justice. The song urges listeners to make taxes work for women and to “rewrite the rules that oppress us.” It is inspired by the calls of women that have intensified with the deepening inequalities across the globe amidst the Covid19 pandemic, economic recession, and, climate emergency.
Performed by Meggy Katigbak, the song was launched on 17 March 2021 during a CSW65 (sixty-fifth session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women) NGO Virtual Parallel Event called “A Tapestry of Women’s Voices Fighting the Multiple Crises.”
The song seeks to inspire solidarity and action. It is to be shared, sung, amplified. We would appreciate if you let us know how you’ve used the song or the music video.
APMDD’s demands for tax and fiscal justice:
Reduce Unfair Tax Burden on Women
Remove gender bias and discriminatory provisions in tax policies
Recognise, represent, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work
Increase allocation of tax revenues for public services.
Stop corporate tax abuse. Stop illicit financial flows. Establish a democratic, inclusive and transparent Global Tax Body under the auspices of the UN
Lyrics
CHORUS
Rewrite the rules
Make taxes work for women
Rewrite the rules
Make taxes work for women
VERSE I
Society, for centuries
condemned us-brutally fit us
into a mold they shaped for us
one that they always formed for us
Women have struggled, toiled, and fought
We have fought to be seen and won-
We have won the right of suffrage
We still have many fights to win
VERSE II
I grow the food and cook the meal
But have no place at your table
That’s the rule, you say, that’s the rule
But life should not be so cruel
Who set the rules, it’s you, you say
All the care, work, and taxes I pay
From what little that I own
But where does my money go?
VERSE III
Every day, everywhere, we pay
Taxes to eat, to heal, to die
You bury us in taxes
You rest on our belabored backs
Now we shout “tax the rich, not the poor!”
Rewrite the rules to make them right
For justice and equality
Rewrite the rules, we want them right!
BRIDGE
Rewrite the rules that oppress us
Make taxes work for women’s rights!
This briefing provides an overview of the dynamics and implications of the 2020 sovereign debt crisis. The prioritisation of creditor rights over the livelihoods of the population of developing countries is a well-known dead-end. Instead, the international community must recognise that the health and wellbeing of millions of people in developing countries is a precondition for debt sustainability.
The apparent financial resilience of developing countries in the aftermath of the Covid-19 shock is misleading. It is the result of a combination of cyclical factors in the form of sectoral adjustments and monetary policy responses triggered by the pandemic. Promoting a prompt return of countries to international financial markets without addressing the debt vulnerabilities exacerbated by the crisis will increase the external financial fragility of developing countries. In turn, it will require a growing transfer of resources from public borrowers to their external creditors over the coming decade. Until now, countries across the world have done so at great human and social costs to their populations. Continuing down this path will sound the death knell for the commitments under the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Beijing Declaration.
