As many companies turn their attention to the preparation of annual reports for a year like no other in recent memory, one subject which should be on the agenda of business and human rights practitioners is taxation.

There is a clear link between tax policy and human rights. State resources are a necessary precursor to the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights in particular, and decisions on corporate tax taken at head office can therefore have impacts on the rights of people across the world...

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights do not explicitly address taxation. Nevertheless, the International Bar Association contends that “Merely complying with tax law is not enough when this results in the violation of human rights”. As the corporate responsibility to respect human rights extends to all aspects of business operations, taxation must also be considered...

In order to address taxation as a human rights issue, corporate human rights professionals could consider initial steps, including:

1. Appraising senior leadership of the connections between human rights and taxation.
2. Engaging finance teams and colleagues involved in setting the organisation’s tax strategy with human rights and their relevance to their work.
3. Considering the impact of your company’s corporate tax strategy – including transfer pricing – in your human rights impact assessment methodology.
4. Seeking to communicate transparently on effective tax rates on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis to stakeholders in annual reports...

As governments seek to take stock of their spending increases in 2020 and plan for a post-pandemic world, it seems likely that corporate taxation will be high on the agenda. Businesses which view taxation also through a UNGP lens will be well-placed to adapt to future changes.