What normativity for international tax? Towards alignment with human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals

The issue of inter-state allocation of taxing rights is part and parcel of the international tax regime. From its early days, the regime was tethered to the single objective of preventing double taxation of corporate income in cross-border trade which gave rise to a perpetual rivalry between sovereigns. This original framing persists to this day and divides up states in a way that privileges some over others. Despite ensconcing a clear bias towards developed countries, the rules on the allocation of taxing entitlements are widely seen as the reflection of non-normative (or neutral) economic thinking. This chapter challenges that notion and proposes a pivoting exercise in the way that international taxation is intellectually envisaged in line with critical legal theory. The main argument advanced is built around two axial claims. Firstly, it is contended that, due to its historical trajectory, the regime is underlined by an arbitrary pragmatism that merely aims for economic efficiency and does not consider the human rights consequences that may result from pursuing such a policy goal. Secondly, it is maintained that unequal allocation rules interfere with states’ ability to discharge their territorial and, relevantly, extraterritorial human rights obligations. It is further noted that practical steps towards ensuring international taxation’s alignment with human rights normativity depend on the establishment of some common language that sparks discussions and mutual understanding between these traditionally non-intersecting fields. Owing to their actual embodiment of human rights normativity, it is argued that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a suitable framework which different experts can effectively coalesce around.