Papers by Prof Attiya Waris
JOTA, 2018
Developing countries continue to face the challenge of creating state-society trust and, in turn,... more Developing countries continue to face the challenge of creating state-society trust and, in turn, compliant taxpayers. This endeavour is hampered by, amongst other things, state inefficiencies, inequalities and corruption, and a lack of accountability, responsibility and transparency, which continue to exist in developing countries, potentially resulting in unfair and unjust government administrations. The impact that a government and its tax administration have, through practices (either real or perceived) relating to these challenges, has an effect on taxpayers' compliance and trust in government. This article analyses elements of fiscal legitimacy of the fiscal state and posits that, in trying to widen a developing country's tax base and increase taxes, one must understand how to build taxpayer compliance. Using African examples, this article reflects on the context of taxpayers in African countries and the ways in which a state can go about building a culture of compliance and trust between state and citizens.
This article considers the changes made to Tanzanian mining law in relation to the issues that we... more This article considers the changes made to Tanzanian mining law in relation to the issues that were highlighted in three recent cases involving the mining subsidiaries of African Barrick Gold, which concerned various tax issues. It then discusses how the cases elaborated on the tax law in question.
The role of taxation is inadequately addressed within the context of African development and achi... more The role of taxation is inadequately addressed within the context of African development and achievement of human, social and economic rights. There are two broad reasons for uncertainty regarding these relations: one relates to the very definitions of development and how it links to the broader right to development agenda, while the other is linked to knowing the statistical relationship in greater detail with specific reference to the right to health in the African context where standardised data was obtained on tax and health indicators. This article revisits briefly the first question in the introduction, and then focuses more extensively on the second issue.
The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist, membership... more The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist, membership organization committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.
This is an Open Access paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non ... more This is an Open Access paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license, which permits downloading and sharing provided the original authors and source are creditedbut the work is not used for commercial purposes.
Constitutionalism is the idea that the powers of government can and should be limited, and that i... more Constitutionalism is the idea that the powers of government can and should be limited, and that its authority flows from enforcing these limitations. In constitution making and analysis, the right or power of the government to tax seems almost superfluous. No real analysis goes into tying down the right or power of government to tax, the amount collectible and the use to which it is put. Instead there tends to be a presumption that a state can tax and taxes cannot be tied to services at all. However, this presumption has encouraged a culture of tax evasion, avoidance, impunity and corruption, lack of responsibility, and accountability as well as outright theft. A rights-based approach is important in understanding both tax spending and how it is collected. Africa is of particular interest because it currently has constitutions that vary in date of commencement from the 1950s to 2010. Some constitutions came into place through national referendums, others through constitutional assemblies, others are monarchies and yet others were put in place at independence. The result is a myriad of approaches to the creation of a fiscal constitution that are worth exploring, analysing and discussing to attempt to reach some understanding of what would be most suitable for a tax state that is attempting to achieve the level of a fiscal state. This paper will using Schumpeter as well as Ormrod and Bonney’s theories of the development of the fiscal state as well as Buchanan’s argument on the right or power to tax to analyse the constitutional texts and begin to understand the constitutional problems facing taxation.
The current socio-economic and political context of Bangladesh makes the country particularly
vul... more The current socio-economic and political context of Bangladesh makes the country particularly
vulnerable to illegal transfer of assets outside the country as a result of which Bangladesh faces a
range of money laundering threats. The most common offences generating substantial criminal
proceeds, which are the main sources of money laundering are: bribery, abuse of public office,
securities fraud, embezzlement, human trafficking, extortion, and drug trafficking. However,
Bangladeshi authorities highlight corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking as the most
serious sources of illegal transfer of money. According to the estimate of World Bank national
proceeds of corruption is worth more than 3% of GDP. In addition to the above the location of
Bangladesh in between the golden triangle and golden crescent makes it further vulnerable to
illegal inflow and outflow of assets/money. The prevalent insurgencies, extremism and terrorist
activities in countries around Bangladesh also cause trafficking of arms through Bangladesh
increasing the potential of money laundering from Bangladesh. In light of the foregoing, Bangladesh became a founder member of the Anti-Money Laundering Group in the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and for 5 years after 2002, Bangladesh was supporting the enactment of Anti-Money Laundering laws. This paper analysis Bangladesh's international stand on AML and subsequent issue of tax amnesties and the impact they have on AML.
Scholarship on international health law is currently pushing the
boundaries while taking stock of... more Scholarship on international health law is currently pushing the
boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health one area remains a stumbling block in the path to achieving the right to
health universally: the financing of heath. This paper uses the book Global Health Law by Larry Gostin to reflect and take stock of the fiscal support provided to the right to health from both a global and an African perspective. It then sets out the key
fiscal challenges facing global and African health and proposes an innovative solution for consideration: use of the domestic principles of tax to design the global health financing system.
Bulletin for International Taxation, 2013
In this article, the author considers the taxation of intra-company transfers and discusses the a... more In this article, the author considers the taxation of intra-company transfers and discusses the alternatives to
transfer pricing regimes, with special reference to their application to developing countries and, in particular,
Rwanda.
Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, Oct 2013
Reproductive Health Matters, Nov 2013
Progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5a, reducing maternal deaths by 75% between 1990 and... more Progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5a, reducing maternal deaths by 75% between 1990 and 2015, has been substantial; however, it has been too slow to hope for its achievement by 2015, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda. This suggests that both the Government of Uganda and the international community are failing to comply with their right-to-health-related obligations towards the people of Uganda. This country case study explores some of the key issues raised when assessing national and international right-to-health-related obligations. We argue that to comply with their shared obligations, national and international actors will have to take steps to move forward together. The Government of Uganda should not expect additional international assistance if it does not live up to its own obligations; at the same time, the international community must provide assistance that is more reliable in the long run to create the ‘fiscal space’ that the Government of Uganda needs to increase recurrent expenditure for health – which is crucial to addressing maternal mortality. We propose that the ‘Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria Response in Africa’, adopted by the African Union in July 2012, should be seen as an invitation to the international community to conclude a global social contract for health
BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2013
Background
Global health institutions increasingly recognize that the right to health should gui... more Background
Global health institutions increasingly recognize that the right to health should guide the formulation of replacement goals for the Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015. However, the right to health’s contribution is undercut by the principle of progressive realization, which links provision of health services to available resources, permitting states to deny even basic levels of health coverage domestically and allowing international assistance for health to remain entirely discretionary.
Discussion
To prevent progressive realization from undermining both domestic and international responsibilities towards health, international human rights law institutions developed the idea of non-derogable “minimum core” obligations to provide essential health services. While minimum core obligations have enjoyed some uptake in human rights practice and scholarship, their definition in international law fails to specify which health services should fall within their scope, or to specify wealthy country obligations to assist poorer countries. These definitional gaps undercut the capacity of minimum core obligations to protect essential health needs against inaction, austerity and illegitimate trade-offs in both domestic and global action. If the right to health is to effectively advance essential global health needs in these contexts, weaknesses within the minimum core concept must be resolved through innovative research on social, political and legal conceptualizations of essential health needs.
Summary
We believe that if the minimum core concept is strengthened in these ways, it will produce a more feasible and grounded conception of legally prioritized health needs that could assist in advancing health equity, including by providing a framework rooted in legal obligations to guide the formulation of new health development goals, providing a baseline of essential health services to be protected as a matter of right against governmental claims of scarcity and inadequate international assistance, and empowering civil society to claim fulfillment of their essential health needs from domestic and global decision-makers.
BMC International Health and Human Rights , Feb 24, 2014
The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is no... more The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is now being discussed within the international community. With regards to health, the World Health Organization proposes universal health coverage as a ‘single overarching health goal’ for the next iteration of the Millennium Development Goals.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2013
Journal of Money Laundering Control, 2014
Purpose - This article relies on the Global Wealth Chains (GWCs) theory. This theory is an analyt... more Purpose - This article relies on the Global Wealth Chains (GWCs) theory. This theory is an analytical framework intended to identify how wealth is repackaged and disguised in order to move it out of spheres of state oversight, regulation and taxation. It introduces the law on Anti Money laundering in Bangladesh, pointing out the revised FAFT recommendation that has expanded the scope of money laundering predicate offences to cover both indirect and direct tax crimes and smuggling in relation to customs and excise duties and taxes.
Design/methodology/approach - Interviews in Bangladesh and desk research
Findings - There are some gaps in the scope of the offence, the coverage of predicate offences and the types of property covered by the money laundering offence. There is also an absence of financial penalties available to effectively sanction legal persons. The current Money laundering offences are derived from the ordinance issued in 2008 by the caretaker government (2006-2008). The current Act contains detailed definitions of money laundering and property and a list of predicate offences and sanctions for the offence. However, there are some gaps in the physical elements of the offence and the range of its predicate offences remains too narrow. Adding tax evasion to its list of predicate offences will, given the history of money laundering in Bangladesh aid in combating illegal transfer of assets abroad and recovery of the same and abolish tax amnesty.
Originality/value - There is no paper that has analysed the linkages between money laundering and taxation in developing countries especially Bangladesh
International Transfer Pricing Journal, Jan 6, 2014
Rwanda is currently reviewing its OECD-based transfer pricing rules and is drafting guidelines un... more Rwanda is currently reviewing its OECD-based transfer pricing rules and is drafting guidelines under the Commissioner General’s mandate that will allow for more detailed regulations to be put in place. There is, however, no recent activity on transfer pricing to be noted, although it is clear that the revenue authority staff are now much better trained regarding this issue and are better able to identify cases of mis-pricing in the future.
East African Law Journal, 2005
Kenya Law Review, Jan 1, 2008
Uploads
Papers by Prof Attiya Waris
vulnerable to illegal transfer of assets outside the country as a result of which Bangladesh faces a
range of money laundering threats. The most common offences generating substantial criminal
proceeds, which are the main sources of money laundering are: bribery, abuse of public office,
securities fraud, embezzlement, human trafficking, extortion, and drug trafficking. However,
Bangladeshi authorities highlight corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking as the most
serious sources of illegal transfer of money. According to the estimate of World Bank national
proceeds of corruption is worth more than 3% of GDP. In addition to the above the location of
Bangladesh in between the golden triangle and golden crescent makes it further vulnerable to
illegal inflow and outflow of assets/money. The prevalent insurgencies, extremism and terrorist
activities in countries around Bangladesh also cause trafficking of arms through Bangladesh
increasing the potential of money laundering from Bangladesh. In light of the foregoing, Bangladesh became a founder member of the Anti-Money Laundering Group in the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and for 5 years after 2002, Bangladesh was supporting the enactment of Anti-Money Laundering laws. This paper analysis Bangladesh's international stand on AML and subsequent issue of tax amnesties and the impact they have on AML.
boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health one area remains a stumbling block in the path to achieving the right to
health universally: the financing of heath. This paper uses the book Global Health Law by Larry Gostin to reflect and take stock of the fiscal support provided to the right to health from both a global and an African perspective. It then sets out the key
fiscal challenges facing global and African health and proposes an innovative solution for consideration: use of the domestic principles of tax to design the global health financing system.
transfer pricing regimes, with special reference to their application to developing countries and, in particular,
Rwanda.
Global health institutions increasingly recognize that the right to health should guide the formulation of replacement goals for the Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015. However, the right to health’s contribution is undercut by the principle of progressive realization, which links provision of health services to available resources, permitting states to deny even basic levels of health coverage domestically and allowing international assistance for health to remain entirely discretionary.
Discussion
To prevent progressive realization from undermining both domestic and international responsibilities towards health, international human rights law institutions developed the idea of non-derogable “minimum core” obligations to provide essential health services. While minimum core obligations have enjoyed some uptake in human rights practice and scholarship, their definition in international law fails to specify which health services should fall within their scope, or to specify wealthy country obligations to assist poorer countries. These definitional gaps undercut the capacity of minimum core obligations to protect essential health needs against inaction, austerity and illegitimate trade-offs in both domestic and global action. If the right to health is to effectively advance essential global health needs in these contexts, weaknesses within the minimum core concept must be resolved through innovative research on social, political and legal conceptualizations of essential health needs.
Summary
We believe that if the minimum core concept is strengthened in these ways, it will produce a more feasible and grounded conception of legally prioritized health needs that could assist in advancing health equity, including by providing a framework rooted in legal obligations to guide the formulation of new health development goals, providing a baseline of essential health services to be protected as a matter of right against governmental claims of scarcity and inadequate international assistance, and empowering civil society to claim fulfillment of their essential health needs from domestic and global decision-makers.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
Design/methodology/approach - Interviews in Bangladesh and desk research
Findings - There are some gaps in the scope of the offence, the coverage of predicate offences and the types of property covered by the money laundering offence. There is also an absence of financial penalties available to effectively sanction legal persons. The current Money laundering offences are derived from the ordinance issued in 2008 by the caretaker government (2006-2008). The current Act contains detailed definitions of money laundering and property and a list of predicate offences and sanctions for the offence. However, there are some gaps in the physical elements of the offence and the range of its predicate offences remains too narrow. Adding tax evasion to its list of predicate offences will, given the history of money laundering in Bangladesh aid in combating illegal transfer of assets abroad and recovery of the same and abolish tax amnesty.
Originality/value - There is no paper that has analysed the linkages between money laundering and taxation in developing countries especially Bangladesh
vulnerable to illegal transfer of assets outside the country as a result of which Bangladesh faces a
range of money laundering threats. The most common offences generating substantial criminal
proceeds, which are the main sources of money laundering are: bribery, abuse of public office,
securities fraud, embezzlement, human trafficking, extortion, and drug trafficking. However,
Bangladeshi authorities highlight corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking as the most
serious sources of illegal transfer of money. According to the estimate of World Bank national
proceeds of corruption is worth more than 3% of GDP. In addition to the above the location of
Bangladesh in between the golden triangle and golden crescent makes it further vulnerable to
illegal inflow and outflow of assets/money. The prevalent insurgencies, extremism and terrorist
activities in countries around Bangladesh also cause trafficking of arms through Bangladesh
increasing the potential of money laundering from Bangladesh. In light of the foregoing, Bangladesh became a founder member of the Anti-Money Laundering Group in the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and for 5 years after 2002, Bangladesh was supporting the enactment of Anti-Money Laundering laws. This paper analysis Bangladesh's international stand on AML and subsequent issue of tax amnesties and the impact they have on AML.
boundaries while taking stock of achievements made over the past few decades. However despite the forward thinking approach of scholars working in the field of global health one area remains a stumbling block in the path to achieving the right to
health universally: the financing of heath. This paper uses the book Global Health Law by Larry Gostin to reflect and take stock of the fiscal support provided to the right to health from both a global and an African perspective. It then sets out the key
fiscal challenges facing global and African health and proposes an innovative solution for consideration: use of the domestic principles of tax to design the global health financing system.
transfer pricing regimes, with special reference to their application to developing countries and, in particular,
Rwanda.
Global health institutions increasingly recognize that the right to health should guide the formulation of replacement goals for the Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015. However, the right to health’s contribution is undercut by the principle of progressive realization, which links provision of health services to available resources, permitting states to deny even basic levels of health coverage domestically and allowing international assistance for health to remain entirely discretionary.
Discussion
To prevent progressive realization from undermining both domestic and international responsibilities towards health, international human rights law institutions developed the idea of non-derogable “minimum core” obligations to provide essential health services. While minimum core obligations have enjoyed some uptake in human rights practice and scholarship, their definition in international law fails to specify which health services should fall within their scope, or to specify wealthy country obligations to assist poorer countries. These definitional gaps undercut the capacity of minimum core obligations to protect essential health needs against inaction, austerity and illegitimate trade-offs in both domestic and global action. If the right to health is to effectively advance essential global health needs in these contexts, weaknesses within the minimum core concept must be resolved through innovative research on social, political and legal conceptualizations of essential health needs.
Summary
We believe that if the minimum core concept is strengthened in these ways, it will produce a more feasible and grounded conception of legally prioritized health needs that could assist in advancing health equity, including by providing a framework rooted in legal obligations to guide the formulation of new health development goals, providing a baseline of essential health services to be protected as a matter of right against governmental claims of scarcity and inadequate international assistance, and empowering civil society to claim fulfillment of their essential health needs from domestic and global decision-makers.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
Design/methodology/approach - Interviews in Bangladesh and desk research
Findings - There are some gaps in the scope of the offence, the coverage of predicate offences and the types of property covered by the money laundering offence. There is also an absence of financial penalties available to effectively sanction legal persons. The current Money laundering offences are derived from the ordinance issued in 2008 by the caretaker government (2006-2008). The current Act contains detailed definitions of money laundering and property and a list of predicate offences and sanctions for the offence. However, there are some gaps in the physical elements of the offence and the range of its predicate offences remains too narrow. Adding tax evasion to its list of predicate offences will, given the history of money laundering in Bangladesh aid in combating illegal transfer of assets abroad and recovery of the same and abolish tax amnesty.
Originality/value - There is no paper that has analysed the linkages between money laundering and taxation in developing countries especially Bangladesh
Africa is rich, yet resources are lost through loopholes in fiscal systems. Financial resources come from the people, are not unlimited, and do not come easily or without cost. Africans must therefore cherish these resources and use them in nation-building and national and regional development. Efficient, effective, transparent and accountable fiscal systems that are fair and just will go a long way toward financing Africa’s development.
Using examples from all of Africa’s 54 countries, the book makes fiscal matters real and understandable for people, no matter their field. It demonstrates the importance of fiscal law and policy for development and the impact it has on individuals, communities, nations, regional groupings, and the continent.