This week, as the United Nations holds the fourth substantive session of negotiations for a Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (or UN Tax Convention) in New York, we should look at a historic legal breakthrough in South Asia that breathes life into the global movement for tax justice.
On 27 January 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) delivered a landmark ruling upholding the “super tax” on high-earning individuals and large corporations, dismissing over 2,200 challenges from the country’s business elite and securing an estimated Rs310 billion for a fiscally strained public exchequer.
This judicial affirmation is not merely a domestic fiscal win. It is a profound victory for the popular fight to make the super-rich and corporations pay their fair share, providing a powerful blueprint for civil society organisations (CSOs) and Global South countries currently fighting for a democratic overhaul of the international tax system.
For years, Pakistan’s wealthiest entities argued that the super tax — a levy on high-profit sectors like banking, cement, and steel — was an overreach of state power. The Court’s decision to uphold this tax is a resounding victory for the popular movement, including the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) and its allies, who have tirelessly campaigned for progressive fiscal policy.
It reinforces the principle that progressive taxation is a human rights necessity. In a region where the working class is disproportionately burdened by regressive consumption taxes, the super tax represents a vital pivot toward equity.
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Wealth taxes are no longer “radical” fringe ideas; they are urgent measures for survival.
This victory arrives at a pivotal moment for the international community. The UN tax negotiations is a historic effort to move global tax rule-making from the OECD to a more inclusive, democratic forum of the United Nations.
This Member State-led process aims to establish a legally binding framework to tackle tax evasion, ensure fair taxation of multinational corporations, and support sustainable development. For the first time, every nation, regardless of its GDP, has an equal seat at the table to redefine the rules of global tax governance.
During this week’s negotiations, negotiators are addressing several high-stakes pillars of the proposed UN Tax Convention: unitary taxation, taxing the ultra-rich, fiscal equity, climate and gender justice, and extractive industry reform. To move beyond a fragmented and inequitable system, negotiations are focused on replacing loophole-ridden “transfer pricing” with a unitary taxation model that ensures multinationals are taxed where they truly operate.
This overhaul aims to secure fiscal equity for the Global South and implement robust mechanisms to tax the ultra-rich, effectively closing the door on offshore capital flight. Furthermore, the proposed framework seeks to end the drain of resources from developing nations and integrate the “polluter pays” principle through environmental taxes and ensuring revenues are used to achieve gender equality and fund climate Loss and Damage mechanisms.
The Pakistan ruling sends a clear message to the rest of Asia that progressive reforms are not just morally right, they are legally sound. For nations like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, the super tax serves as a positive foreground for breaking the cycle of elite capture, as well as a signal to the UN Tax Convention negotiations on the urgency of wealth tax. It proves that the judiciary can act as a guardian of the public interest, ensuring that those who benefit most from the economic system contribute the most to its preservation.
Wealth taxes are no longer “radical” fringe ideas; they are urgent measures for survival. As Pakistan continues to grapple with the fallout of catastrophic climate events, the need for internal revenue to fund a Just Transition is undeniable. Global South countries must exercise their own fiscal sovereignty by taxing the ultra-rich and corporations.
This ensures that while we continue to demand international accountability, we are also actively harnessing domestic wealth to fund the urgent resilience our communities need. The Global North has a clear moral and legal obligation to provide substantial climate finance. They continue to default on this and further evade their responsibility by offering debt-heavy loans that further entrap developing economies, instead of grant-based finance that justice demands.
Pakistan’s precedent should embolden negotiators from the Global South. Having already contributed a powerful voice during the drafting of the Convention’s Terms of Reference, Pakistan has shown it can lead the way in redefining global norms. The Court’s ruling affirms the sovereign right of a nation’s parliament to determine its fiscal destiny. This sovereignty is exactly what the UN Tax Convention seeks to protect against the predatory race to the bottom, where countries are pressured to lower taxes to attract fickle capital.
The message reverberating from Islamabad to New York is that the era of the super-rich writing their own rules is coming to an end. Whether through national courts or international treaties, the demand for tax justice is unstoppable. Negotiators must ensure that the Convention’s Terms of Reference is not watered down but remains an ambitious, legally binding cornerstone for a truly equitable global economy.
The fourth substantive session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) for the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation will convene from 2-3 February and 6-13 February 2026.
Lidy Nacpil is coordinator of Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD).
Farooq Tariq is general secretary of the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) and a member of APMDD’s Regional Committee.
