Taxes and spending with a sense of social justice

In this edition of the Newsletter, we propose looking at fiscal policy not as a technical tool, but as a political and ethical instrument for reducing inequalities and guaranteeing human rights for this and future generations. We do so at a key moment: following the Fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), held in July 2025 in Seville. There, states gathered to rethink how to mobilize the resources needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in a global context marked by the crisis of multilateralism, the climate emergency, and a cost-of-living crisis that hits the most vulnerable hardest.

The FFD4 sent a strong message: the international financial architecture must be transformed urgently. The current system perpetuates privileges and excludes the Global South. The OECD’s proposal for a 15% global minimum tax, defined by rich countries, ignored the demands of more vulnerable economies, limiting their fiscal space and benefiting multinational companies to the detriment of citizens’ well-being, especially in lower-income countries. These dynamics weaken international cooperation. A new global financial framework is needed that is more just, equitable, and participatory.

Meanwhile, in our daily lives, we are confronted with two stark realities. The first is the climate crisis. Although its effects are evident—droughts, water shortages, extreme heat waves—many fiscal policies continue to reward the most polluting sectors with tax benefits. Instead of promoting more equitable economic development, they widen social and environmental gaps, affecting especially those who contribute least to the problem.

The second is the persistent invisibility of care work. Although we now know how much this work contributes to the economy—and that progress has been made in measuring it—caregivers continue to face precarious conditions. The most important step remains to be taken: turning this recognition into public policies that guarantee rights and redress historical inequalities.

That is why, together with Diana Guzman and Sergio Chaparro,  we will reflect on the central role of international cooperation and fiscal policy in transforming these realities in an article, “The Seville commitment must not remain on paper,” written by Sergio Chaparro and myself, Mariana Matamoros.  On the other hand, in the article Climate budgets, I take a critical look at the role of budgets and the need to create fair tax systems that stop benefiting extractive industries, which destroy ecosystems and concentrate enormous profits, and start prioritizing those who sustain life every day. In a third entry entitled “What weighs in the shopping cart: the hidden history of ‘neutral’ taxes,” Diana Guzmán and I highlight the role of single mothers who, through their care work, contribute to the economy and their communities, but receive only a minimum wage in return and are affected by public policy decisions. 

Talking about fiscal policy means talking about government revenue and spending, but above all about its power to transform lives and define the future we want to build.