The latest OECD draft rules to regulate massive corporate tax avoidance are a real advance so long as the 44 countries concerned (90% of the world’s economy) stick to their resolve, push these measures through and resist the enormous lobbying that they can expect from a determined corporate push-back. But the past record on that is […]
Posts Tagged ‘Tax avoidance’
Far from blocking tax avoidance, the Tories have made the UK a tax haven
Jul 10th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.The Guardian revelations about the receipt of donations and tax arrangements of Andrea Leadson, Osborne’s junior Treasury minister, raise again the murky influence of Tory money on British politics via such devices as family trusts, non-dom arrangements, offshore mortgages, and employee benefit trusts. But that does not reveal the real scandal, namely that so far […]
Share:
One rule for benefit claimants, another for the tax avoiders.
Mar 5th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.The latest figures collected by Oxfam indicate nearly a million persons have been ‘sanctioned’ (i.e. deprived of all benefits for a month for the first infringement, often trivial, for 3 months for the second, and 3 years for the third) in the last 15 months and that the numbers using foodbanks are now well over half a million. […]
Share:
International crackdown on tax avoidance gathers momentum, but UK drags its heels
Nov 29th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.The EU Commission has today outlined its attack on the artificial hybrid structures used by multinational companies to reduce or entirely avoid their tax liabilities. Three companies – Tate & Lyle (sugar), FirstGroup (transport) and Linde (industrial gases) were specified as saving as much as $150m a year by lending billions of dollars to their […]
Share:
This is how to enforce tax transparency & prevent tax avoidance
Sep 10th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.After 4 hours of massive Tory filibustering to prevent my bill being reached, I finally got a brief chance to make the case for ending tax avoidance and enforcing tax transparency on the richest individuals and the biggest companies: Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton, Labour) Tax avoidance and financial transparency, or perhaps I should say […]
Share:
On Jack Monroe, Jilly Luke and the perils of blogging
Aug 27th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.Two days ago, we published a piece entitled Lentils and lager: why we forgive tax evaders but not benefit claimants by Jilly Luke about the media portrayal of benefit claimants. It has generated quite a storm, and received over 8,000 hits in 48 hours, more than any other article on this site. It argued that the […]
Share:
Lentils and lager: why we forgive tax evaders but not benefit claimants
Aug 25th, 2013 by Jilly Luke.Please note that there is now a supplement to this article including reaction to the response by Jack Monroe. Comments are now closed here but may be made on the new article. You don’t need me to tell you that everyone on benefits is a money-grasping sponger. Or that every asylum seeker is parachuted directly […]
Share:
Government pretends crackdown on tax avoidance with hand deliberately tied behind its back
Jun 3rd, 2013 by Michael Meacher.According to the Boston Consulting Group, Britain now has just over 1,000 ‘ultra-high net worth households’, i.e. those with more than $100m (£65m) in private financial wealth, excluding property. Much of this will be stored in tax havens, and most of it will have been filleted by expensively-paid lawyers and accountants to ensure that next […]
Share:
Tax returns of all major companies and super-rich individuals should be published
May 31st, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Progress is being made bit by bit in the fight against tax avoidance/evasion, as revealed today in the decision of the Swiss government to loosen its tight bank secrecy laws so that its banks can under US pressure, which forced one Swiss bank to close, reach settlements with the US regarding their involvement in enabling […]
Share:
Labour is failing on tax avoidance
May 29th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.This week’s YouGov poll for the Sunday Times makes it very clear that Labour is failing to get a clear anti-tax avoidance message across to the public. In answer to the question “In general, do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable to LEGALLY avoid paying tax?”, 62% of people (72% of Labour voters) think it […]
