Responding to UK Labour Party Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP’s announcement of an action campaign calling on companies to sign up to the Fair Tax Mark, Alex Cobham, chief executive at the Tax Justice Network, said:
“$500 billion is dodged in taxes each year by multinational companies – three times more than annual government spending on healthcare. When companies duck out on their fair share of taxes, it’s the most disadvantaged citizens who foot the bill, often through deadly cuts to vital public services like the NHS.
“The Tax Justice Network is delighted to see the announcement of a major shareholder campaign in the UK against corporate tax avoidance. Evidence shows that the race to weaken our tax laws in order make our economies ‘competitive’ and ‘business friendly’ is a false economy – nobody wins in a race to the bottom.
“The Fair Tax Mark, which we helped get started, is a great way for companies to be open and transparent about the tax contributions they make to the communities they set up shop in. This is an opportunity for British businesses, from family-run corner shops to the biggest international firms, to lead the world in responsible tax practice.”
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Contact: Mark Bou Mansour, communications coordinator at the Tax Justice Network. Mobile: 07562 403075 Email: [email protected]
Notes to Editor
- Profit shifting by multinational companies, where profit is shifted away from the country where real business activity takes place and is reported in a country where tax rates are low or non-existent, is estimated to result in annual tax losses of US$500bn. https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Tax-dodging-the-scale-of-the-problem-TJN-Briefing.pdf
- The UK government spent £142.3 on healthcare in the fiscal year 2018 https://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uk_year2018_0.html
About the Tax Justice Network
The Tax Justice Network is an independent international network, launched in 2003. It is dedicated to high-level research, analysis and advocacy in the area of international tax and financial regulation, including the role of tax havens.
The Tax Justice Network maps, analyses and explains the harmful impacts of tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax competition; and supports the engagement of citizens, civil society organisations and policymakers with the aim of a more just tax system.
www.taxjustice.net