Greens throw support behind Tax Dodging Bill

13 February 2015

In the wake of the HSBC, Swiss Leaks and LuxLeaks tax avoidance scandals the Green Party has pledged to introduce a Tax Dodging Bill in the first 100 days after the election. The campaign for such a Bill is being widely supported by a network of NGOs, cooperatives, faith groups, MPs and Unions [1].  

The Green Party has long championed firm action on tax avoidance as an alternative to austerity and fully back the Bill which calls for new rules to make the UK tax regime more transparent and tougher on tax dodging [2]. Green Party policy is to crack down heavily on tax havens and other methods of tax evasion and avoidance, and press for a transparent country-by-country reporting so that company profits can be located and taxed [3].

Green Party finance speaker, Molly Scott Cato MEP, who is a member of the European Parliament’s tax working group, said:

“In the wake of repeated tax avoidance scandals, it is now all the more vital that we put in place legislation to ensure corporations and wealthy individuals pay the taxes that treasuries need to invest in public services and infrastructure. Greens have been pushing hard in the European Parliament for a full inquiry into the Lux Leaks scandal but unfortunately, despite the rhetoric from both Tories and Labour on the issue, they have refused to back such an inquiry.”   

In 2011 Green MP Caroline Lucas launched the Tax and Financial Transparency Bill in the House of Commons [3]. She exposed the fact that HMRC was failing to prevent serious tax evasion, amounting to as much as £16 billion of lost tax each year. Despite two attempt at getting the Bill passed, it failed to gain enough Parliamentary support.

Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, said:

“Tax avoidance has cost this country tens of billions of pounds over the course of this Parliament, at a time when public services are being slashed. If the Government’s political priorities had been clamping down on tax avoidance, rather than dismantling our welfare state and public services, then we’d be in a far fairer, more humane, and more economically stable Britain. We need new laws to make the UK tax regime tougher on those who wish to avoid contributing to our society.”

Ends

Notes

[1] http://taxdodgingbill.org.uk/whos-with-us/  

[2] http://taxdodgingbill.org.uk/the-bill/

[2] http://greenparty.org.uk/values/policies-2010/2010manifesto-economy.html#tax

[3] The Tax and Financial Transparency Bill: to require the Secretary of State to take steps to require banks, corporations and trusts to provide information on their status, income arising and tax payments made in each jurisdiction in which they operate; and for connected purposes. See: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-12/taxandfinancialtransparency.html






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