ICRICT 106d ago

Financial capital inequalities are bad enough, explained our co-chair Professor Jayati Ghosh at the International Panel on Inequality (IPI) conference at @UN in Geneva. But regressive tax systems make them worse—reinforcing market inequalities instead of correcting them. This is the central finding of the #G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts' Report on Global Inequality, released in November 2025. Led by our co-chair Joseph E. Stiglitz and joined by experts including Jayati, @Imraan Valodia, @Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, and @Winnie Byanyima, the report delivers a powerful message: inequality is a policy choice. The panel itself proposed a bold solution: the creation of a permanent International Panel on Inequality (IPI), inspired by the success of the IPCC that united the world around climate science. A dedicated IPI would continuously monitor global inequality, equip policymakers with evidence, and remind us that tackling inequality is both necessary and possible. Jayati articulated a key mechanism driving this crisis at the UNRISD, Brazil, Spain and Norway co-organised panel. "Market inequalities—created by deregulation and reduced labour power—are then cemented by regressive fiscal policy. We have built tax systems that struggle to tax the wealthy and allow multinational corporations to pay less than their domestic counterparts," she said. But if inequality is a choice, so is tax justice. The report's clear recommendation is bold fiscal reform: ensuring multinationals pay their fair share and creating systems capable of effectively taxing concentrated wealth. Only then can we break the self-reinforcing cycle, as Jayati put it.