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Developing the first regional tax system addressing the SDGs

Green economists are helping the Biscay regional government in its ambition to develop the world’s first Sustainable Development Goals-oriented regional tax system.

SDG case study G8 Bear

7 October 2020

The provincial government of Biscay is seekingto design aninnovativeregionalfiscal policy,whichencourages aneconomic and sociallandscapethat prioritises public value andinnovation, andaddresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Biscayis a province in the north of Spain, butalsorefers toahistorical territory of the Basque Country.

Ateamfrom the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Prosperity (IIPP)is working with the Biscay Governor’s team, based in Bilbao, Spain, on the BEAR project – so named becauseseveral relevantwords in the Basque languagebeginwith ‘ber’:berdea, meaning green;berrikuntza, meaning innovation; andberezia, meaning unique.

The team isundertaking technical research and collaborative work with local companies and institutions to developa newframeworkforthe provincial economy and taxation system.“We’re aiming totransform the direction of economic activity in the regiontowards sustainable, inclusivegrowth,and in doing soaddressalltheSustainable Development Goals,” explains Martha McPherson, IIPP’s Head of Green Economy and Sustainable Growth.

The BEAR projectdraws on several strands of IIPP’sground-breakingthought leadership and research, which isconsidering howthe role of the stateand capitalism can be rethought and howinstitutionsmight be transformed accordingly.For example, for companies in the region that are undertaking specific work to decrease their use of resources,reducepollution, ornarrow thegender pay gap,receivetax benefits and certified recognition of their activities.

“To get toa green transition, we need to rethink the role of government as a market-shaping actor, not purely concerned with identifying and fixing market-failures, but with setting ambitious directions for economic activity,” arguesMartha.

“We should be harnessing the full range of government instruments - fromtaxationandprocurement, toguaranteed loans, grants and prize schemes–tomobilise private sector actors to also makebottom-up investmentsininnovation across the entire economy.”

TheBEARprojectisaimingto create a replicable approach to SDG-oriented taxation andconsidering thepublic valueofeconomic growthat a local level, whichother regional and local governmentscould adopt.