The 2030 Agenda, marked by its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), helps guide global endeavours to eradicate poverty, secure environmental integrity and ensure worldwide prosperity. Recent adversities have significantly impacted well-being and equity, evidenced by how over 60% of young people in the European Union self-reported low levels of well-being in 2021. The growing number of people being left behind means that progress towards prosperity has slowed and social fractures are increasing. This comes amidst a context of major demographic changes, such as ageing societies, youth migration and rural depopulation, which create risks for population health, fiscal resilience, and economic recovery.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tax for SDGs Initiative and the WHO Regional Office for Europe Well-being Economy Initiative are coming together in this session to showcase country experiences from Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Poland and the Republic of Moldova in shaping fiscal policies for well-being, health and prosperity for all, and the resulting spillover benefits for economic resilience and social cohesion. This is especially important in the context of squeezed fiscal space, growing inequities and the pressure to heal the damage of underinvestment in public goods for well-being and human security. This event will also endeavour to accentuate the significance of tax solidarity in fiscal policies, the role the SDG taxation framework can play in promoting well-being, and how prudent fiscal policies can propel equity, well-being, and the trajectory towards achieving the SDGs.
The session is part of the Dialogue on Tax and SDGs 2023, organized by the governments of Finland and Norway, Columbia University, and the UNDP.