Integrating Tax Challenges of Local Market Traders in International Tax Justice Campaigns

This research in brief is a summary of ICTD Working Paper 80 by Kas Sempere. In the broad sense, ‘tax justice’ explores pro-poor and redistributive tax systems able to reduce inequality. It involves a transparent process of pro-poor collection (those who have less, pay less) and pro-poor expenditure (those who have less, receive more), for instance, through public services. Tax justice has become a popular concept at the international and national levels. For instance, reports and campaigns have exposed the unfairness of tax havens and harmful tax breaks. Yet, the idea of tax justice at the local level is less known and more needs to be done to unpack it.