Institute for Economic Justice submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) proposes a shift away from growth-dependent poverty eradication, advocating for a universal basic income grant for adults aged 18-59 in South Africa and a global wealth tax on billionaires. The submission argues against regressive VAT increases and conditional social grants, instead recommending progressive taxation, debt management strategies to lower interest costs, and the removal of algorithmic and digital barriers to social protection access.

• The IEJ recommends rejecting a proposed 1 percentage point VAT increase over two years in the 2025/26 National Budget, arguing that such a move is "regressive and will counteract any pro-poor spending increases."
• To increase spending on public services and social protection, the document suggests progressive revenue measures, including raising the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate back to at least 28%, removing tax breaks for high-income earners, and utilizing the Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserve Account (GFECRA), which contains over R300 billion.
• The submission advocates for a comprehensive social protection floor in South Africa featuring a permanent, non-conditional basic income support for adults aged 18-59, and calls for the Child Support Grant (CSG) and Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to be increased to at least the food poverty line (FPL).
• The IEJ opposes the use of algorithmic predictive policing for welfare fraud and biometric verification systems that exclude holders of "Green ID books", urging for offline identity verification and the removal of "blanket bank account surveillance" used for means-testing.
• On a global scale, the document supports a 2% tax on billionaires to fund Agenda 2030 priorities, a proposal made by Brazil during its 2024 G20 Presidency, and calls on the IMF and World Bank to abandon requirements for conditionality and narrow targeting in social protection.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). Institute for Economic Justice submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IEJ-Subsmission-Matrix-policy-action-Beyond-Growth-Roadmap_UNSREP.docx-1-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Institute for Economic Justice submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth. n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IEJ-Subsmission-Matrix-policy-action-Beyond-Growth-Roadmap_UNSREP.docx-1-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Institute for Economic Justice submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IEJ-Subsmission-Matrix-policy-action-Beyond-Growth-Roadmap_UNSREP.docx-1-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjusticendinstitute, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Institute for Economic Justice submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IEJ-Subsmission-Matrix-policy-action-Beyond-Growth-Roadmap_UNSREP.docx-1-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }