The Vatican will host an event this Thursday (13 February) together with the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), where global leaders, policymakers, academics, and civil society representatives will call for international tax reform to protect democracy from extreme wealth. PSI's General Secretary Daniel Bertossa will join the event as co-chair of the ICRICT Steering Committee.

The Pope will deliver opening remarks, accompanied by recorded messages from President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and President of Spain Pedro Sánchez - hosts of COP 30 in Brazil and IV FFD Conference in Spain, respectively.

The Pope, a long-time champion of tax justice as a moral imperative, will be joined by distinguished speakers including Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa; Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate and ICRICT co-chair; and Gabriel Zucman, ICRICT Commissioner and Director of the EU Tax Observatory (see the full programme for the event here).

"Tax Justice and Solidarity: Towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Common Home" will run from 8:30am to 5pm CET and will be livestreamed here. Discussions will focus on the role of taxation of multinational corporations and the super-rich in reducing inequality, combating climate change, and financing sustainable development.

The event takes place at a critical moment - the urgency has been heightened by the ultra-rich in power who are shaping political decisions and trying to undermine international cooperation for tax reform.

In response to these challenges, just last week we saw another round of the so-called UN Tax Talks at the United Nations headquarters in New York with the aim of establishing a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation - which represents a great victory for PSI, which has long campaigned for a UN tax body where all countries can set rules on an equal footing to ensure global corporations pay their fair share of tax.

Also last month we saw the launch of the "Tax the Super-Rich" campaign, a global coalition that brings together ITUC, PSI and major NGOs including Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Amnesty.

"Tax justice is not just an economic imperative - it's a moral one," says PSI General Secretary Daniel Bertossa. "When Pope Francis calls for taxes that favor wealth redistribution and serve the common good, he's echoing what public service workers worldwide have long known: fair taxation is fundamental to funding quality public services and building a more equitable society."

The Vatican and ICRICT's event underscores the importance of global cooperation to ensure that taxation serves as a tool for justice, not exploitation.