Challenging complex problems together
By Carolina R. Finette
Tax justice shapes public budgets and public budgets shape people’s lives. Whether we are talking about schools, hospitals, social protection, or transportation, how governments raise and allocate revenue influences what services people can access and how fairly those services are distributed.
Yet despite being so present in people’s daily lives, tax justice is still often seen as too technical, too distant, or something better left to economists and policy specialists. For many people, engaging with tax feels like venturing into foreign territory, full of unfamiliar language and complicated numbers.
But systemic problems don’t exist in isolation, and neither should the movements that try to solve them. Working on tax justice and education showed me how important it is to collaborate across sectors. Not occasionally, but consistently and deliberately. Every sector feels the consequences of unfair tax systems, and every sector has something unique to contribute to this push for transformative change.
We can’t fix education without fixing how we fund it. Public education systems are underfunded not because money doesn't exist but because tax systems are too weak to collect it fairly. Strengthening those systems—by stopping corporate tax abuse and introducing fair wealth taxes—could generate enough to get all 72 million out-of-school children into classrooms and end the global teacher shortage.
What’s wild is that 97 per cent of education funding comes from national budgets, yet so many conversations still revolve around aid. As a former teacher, realizing this was a turning point for me. That’s when I saw tax justice not just as an economic issue but as a powerful tool for transforming education.
Movements have different internal dynamics
I’ve learned a lot along the way, especially from colleagues and partners who brought diverse perspectives and experiences into the conversations. One of the things that quickly became clear was how different the internal dynamics can be across movements. The political perspectives, the key actors, and even how people organise and build alliances can vary widely.
Understanding these differences has been a central part of the work itself. It has helped us find ways to make sure that the tax justice conversations were relatable and well connected to examples in education financing and that education sector concerns and realities were present in tax spaces too.
During this work, I also realised how important it is to recognise how differently people work depending on the movement they are in.
In the education sector, for example, I often worked with people who came from teaching, education studies, or social sciences. This shaped how research was done, how findings were presented, and how advocacy work was carried out. Many leaned more towards qualitative research and centring lived experiences in their work. Many also brought communication skills honed through years of teaching or organising. Of course, this is never the same for everyone, but it was a pattern that often appeared in cross-sector conversations.
In the tax justice world, in contrast, quantitative research often plays a more central role in shaping how messages are crafted and how evidence is used in campaigns and reports. These different ways of working aren’t a challenge in themselves, but they do require awareness to ensure our work reaches people in a meaningful and constructive way.
Allowing for cultural differences
Cultural differences show up very strongly in this type of work. We often think about cultural dynamics within a movement, but when working across sectors, these differences are amplified. How people structure their campaigns, how fast or slow decision-making processes are, and how strategies are built - all of this shifts depending on context.
Take Brazil, for example, where I’m from. Meetings often run over an hour, especially when different organisations are involved. People are usually very vocal and eager to share their thoughts. Plus, Portuguese tends to be less direct than English, so it naturally takes a bit longer to get ideas across.
Another thing I’ve noticed when working with European partners is how quiet summer can be. August, in particular, is basically a holiday month, so you have to plan deadlines well in advance. Meanwhile in Brazil, August is a completely normal working month, just after winter, with everything running as usual. Learning how to navigate this was key to making cross-sector advocacy work in practice. It also pushed me to think about how important it is to be patient and open when stepping into a space that works differently from the one you are used to.
Collaboration takes time
One of the key takeaways for me is that cross-sector collaboration can’t be an occasional thing. It has to be intentional, ongoing, and rooted in relationships that develop over time. Trust doesn’t happen overnight, and neither does the deep understanding needed for collaboration to lead to meaningful action.
In the tax and education work, for example, trust was built by consistently showing up, listening carefully, and following through on commitments. Developing campaign strategies together, co-authoring materials, and creating spaces for honest reflection all played a part in strengthening those bonds.
What truly made the difference, though, was the time spent beyond the formal work - having informal conversations, gaining insight into each other’s contexts, and being open about challenges. Strong relationships grow when people feel seen, heard, and respected, not just as colleagues but as individuals.
Language and empathy
Another crucial part of the work has been how we communicate. Tax justice is a complex issue, but complexity does not need to become a barrier. It is important to use language that is accessible and grounded in people’s real experiences. This does not mean simplifying things to the point of losing meaning, but it does mean taking responsibility for making sure that research, advocacy, and conversations are framed in ways that people can connect to.
Empathy has also been a key part of this learning process. It means recognising that people in different sectors might approach problems from very different starting points and with different working cultures. But it also means understanding that behind these differences, there is often shared ground. When we find ways to meet each other across movements, we build stronger foundations for collective action.
Ultimately, tax is our social superpower, and the source of this power lies in the collective. It gains strength when movements connect and when knowledge is shared across sectors and when we take the time to understand each other’s ways of working. The challenge is to create spaces where this connection can grow, where we move beyond our silos, and where movements come together and strengthen each other in the fight for systemic change.
Carolina currently works as a Researcher and Advocate (Human Rights and Education) at the Tax Justice Network. She also serves as a member of UNICEF’s Expert Advisory Panel on Taxation and Children’s Rights.