Numerous Heads of State and Governments have explicitly endorsed advancing progressive fiscal reforms globally in the context of the ongoing general debate at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

This broad support marks yet another distinctive milestone in the current shifts in the narrative concerning the relationship between taxation and human rights. It underscores a propitious political environment for enacting innovative and progressive tax initiatives that may redistribute fiscal burdens more justly and sustainably. 

At a multilateral level, this is specially relevant in the recent adoption of the Pact of the Future. This document aims to set the path for an equal, just, peaceful, and environmentally sustainable world by addressing the shortcomings of multilateralism and international institutions. The final text of the Pact mandates the promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation aligned with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by allowing states to mobilise their domestic resources.

Active engagement with the current negotiations for a future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation was also determined to be crucial to achieving such purposes. 

Aligned with such initiatives, several top policy-makers have used the global platform that the General Debate at the General Assembly offers to include in their speeches direct references to the need to advance reforms of the international financial architecture, combat illicit financial flows, and move towards the effective taxation of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, alongside other progressive fiscal proposals - including enhanced climate financing solutions.

Leaders of Latin American States in the Fiscal Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), in which we are an active member of the Permanent Civil Society Council, championed this issue at the General Assembly. Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva highlighted the "prohibitive conditions" faced by middle- and low-income countries in accessing financial resources, often constrained by insurmountable debt, limiting "the fiscal space to invest in health, education, reducing inequalities and tackling climate change." He further noted that "while the Sustainable Development Goals lag, the world's 150 largest companies together made $1.8 trillion in profit over the past two years" and that "the wealth of the top 5 billionaires has more than doubled, while 60% of humanity has become poorer". Lula called for international cooperation to establish a global minimum tax standard for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, noting that "the super-rich pay much less tax than the working class."

Chilean President Gabriel Boric, whose country holds the pro tempore presidency of PTLAC, reaffirmed Chile's support for the negotiations on a future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. He emphasised that this framework could address "tax evasion, illicit financial flows, and inequalities in tax collection" and help create a "more transparent and inclusive global tax system." Such a system, Boric noted, would finance efforts to combat the climate crisis and ensure that both states and large transnational corporations are held accountable and contribute somewhat to the countries from which they derive their wealth.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took account of the astronomic levels of socioeconomic inequality on a global basis, highlighting that the top 1% controls more than 95% of the wealth held by the rest of humanity combined. Petro referred to the differential degree of contribution and responsibility that this group has about the climate crisis, affirming that there are conflicting interests between their sources of wealth - oil and carbon -  and the need for an effective phaseout of fossil fuels in the context of a just climate transition.

Not only Latin American countries championed progressive fiscal reforms on a global basis. African States responsible for promoting the resolution, which opened the possibility of a future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, have also introduced this agenda throughout some of the statements of their leaders at the General Assembly. Most notably, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged the international community to "operationalise the agreed climate financing and capacity-building instruments to advance mitigation and adaptation." He stressed the need to close the financing gap for Sustainable Development Goals, asserting that "pursuing sustainable development requires those with resources to support those without."

Looking ahead to South Africa's G20 presidency in 2025, Ramaphosa committed to using this platform to advocate for Africa and the global South. He also supported calls for reforming the international financial system to help developing countries "lift themselves out of the quicksand of debt."