Transcript Document

“Each State Party to the present Covenant
undertakes to take steps, individually and through
international assistance and cooperation, especially
economic and technical, to the maximum of its
available resources, with a view to achieving
progressively the full realization of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate
means, including particularly the adoption of
legislative measures” (ICESCR Article 2.1).
Implication: Governments cannot ignore human
rights obligations on the grounds of lack of resources.
They must show that they are making the maximum
use of available resources to realize human rights.
Government
Expenditure
Monetary Policy
& Financial
Regulation
Debt & Deficit
Financing
Government
Revenue
Development
Assistance
Maximum Available Resources
Total Tax Revenue as Percentage of GDP, 1975-2004: Country Comparison
60
50
Percentage of GDP
Norway
Canada
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
Denmark
United Kingdom
France
Germany
40
30
20
10
0
1975
1985
1990
1995
2000
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
Maximum Available Resources
Total Tax Revenue as Percentage of GDP: United States
31
Percentage of GDP
30
29.9
29
28.9
28
27.9
27.3
27
United States
26.4
26
25.6
25.7
25.6
25.5
25
24
23
1975
1985
1990
1995
2000
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
1.8
1.6
% GDP
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Corporative
Individuals
Source: Balakrishnan and Elson (2011), Economic Policy and Human Rights, Figure 5.16
45
12
40
10
35
8
25
6
20
15
% incidence
% share
30
4
10
2
5
0
0
I
II
III
Source: Ministry of Finance, 2003
IV
V
VI
VII
Share to VAT (general rate)
VIII
IX
X
Incidence on income
Source: Balakrishnan and Elson (2011), Economic Policy and Human Rights, Figure 5.12
Maximum Available Resources
Corporate share of tax vs individual