When world leaders and policy-makers gathered at key multilateral forums this autumn — including the UN General Assembly, and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings — concern about the outlook for financing ranked high across agendas. And for good reasons.
Sizeable financing gaps persist on nearly all fronts, from financing the Covid-19 pandemic recovery to climate mitigation and adaptation to the Sustainable Development Goals. An already strained financing environment is further stressed by a brewing perfect fiscal storm, characterised by looming sovereign debt crises, growing budget deficits, and rising interest rates and cost of capital. The challenges of financing for public goods to build back better and sustainable development have never been greater, which makes it even more surprising that there has been little discussion on the potential benefit of the global minimum tax (GMT).
