Human rights and taxation in developing countries A case for tax justice and accountability in Africa

Human rights play an integral role in State revenue sourcing and taxation. The relevance of these ideas is twofold: first, to reinforce a state’s obligation to enact legislative measures and other regulations for the realisation of treaty rights. Second, to recommend that a foundation or premise whereby individuals are duty bound to pay taxes when necessary. Drawing lessons from Nigeria, this chapter examines whether human rights can be invoked in the debate on creating effective tax regimes across Africa. Recent literature and reports agree that tax and development are coterminous in achieving human rights objectives. It argues for the integration of human rights consideration in policies on taxation, through the development of a taxpayers Bill of Rights. It further argues for a more emphasis on multinational corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.