Nearly half of the world’s population goes through life without any form of social protection. While high-income countries have achieved near-universal coverage, low-middle-income and low-income countries respectively cover a third and a tenth of their population. The richest 10% is responsible for over three quarters of carbon emissions associated with private capital ownership (and nearly a half of consumption-based emissions) more than twenty five times the carbon emissions associated with private capital ownership (and almost five times of consumption-based emissions) caused by the poorest half of humanity, who unfortunately have to face the brunt of disasters caused by climate change. Global imbalances in trade and privatization policies have bloated the number of informal workers, a group having little or no social protection. The richest 10% own three-quarters of global wealth while the bottom half owns just one-fiftieth. This disparity is even more pronounced in poorer countries. Women in these countries continue to work more and earn less than men. Women work on average over fifty hours per week compared to forty for men, when domestic and care work is taken into account. Excluding unpaid work, women earn only two-fifths of men’s hourly income; when unpaid labor is included, this figure falls to just short of one-third. One in four people globally (2.3 billion) - up by 335 million since 2019 - face moderate or severe food insecurity, having to regularly skip meals. The current geopolitical situation and economic crisis have more heavily impacted Asian economies, making the situation even worse in Asia.  

We call for the expansion of social protection, including health coverage and maternity protection for mothers, to cover all citizens, including informal workers, migrant workers, children, youth,  older persons,  persons with disabilities, LGBTQA+, Dalit, indigenous, ethnic, and religious minorities, to meet these challenges. We realize the enormity of such tasks and the heavy investments they require, something which poor countries can ill afford. We believe the money required can be found by increasing taxation on the 10% richest in each country. TAX THE RICH, NOT THE POOR. 

We call on Governments to: 

–1– Impose an annual wealth tax of say, 1% on the wealth of the richest 1% to 10% of individuals in the country. 

–2– Exempt essential goods from indirect taxes like VAT and GST while raising these taxes on luxury goods. 

–3– Raise more revenue by increasing the higher level rates in the progressive taxes applied to all forms of income.

–4– Prevent the richest 1% to10% from abusing tax incentives by requiring that they pay at least the median tax rate on their total income.

–5– Finance emergency government spending for supplementary social protection cash transfers to the badly impacted people in developing countries, such as the current crisis in Asia through a temporary additional tax on the rich, and not through more Government borrowing.  

–6– Support an ambitious UN tax convention that will require foreign corporations to pay fair taxes in the country where they actually invest and operate their businesses, and devise innovative approaches to addressing illicit financial flows, tax avoidance, and evasion schemes.

–7– Develop and implement plans for universal, comprehensive, lifecycle social protection systems with adequate, increased financing.