...States also have an immediate obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights.

A new publication by RightingFinance centers on the implications of such normative principles for tax policy...

...[A]lthough a state has discretion to use the tax measures that are best suited to its circumstances, it has the burden of demonstrating that in using its discretion to choose the most appropriate tax measure it is not violating principles such as progressive realization or maximum available resources.

Referring to states that fail to increase revenue through taxation, the report reminded that "the quality, accessibility and availability of goods and services needed for the realization of human rights, such as the rights to an adequate standard of living, health, education and social security, will hinge on the resources that the State is able to collect."

Economic and social rights also have implications for the use of corporate tax incentives. Tax incentives or tax holidays for corporations represent foregone public revenue in amounts frequently large, especially when compared with the human rights needs that could have been met with such revenue...

Other issues in the report that the advocacy tool addresses are taxes on the financial sector, natural resource taxes and standards for economic crises prevention and response.

A series of questions at the end invites reflection on a number of aspects to analyze when assessing human rights compliance in individual country cases...