A while ago I published some research for TJN, including back up notes and explanations on the methodology. Several commentators, wholly unjustifiably in my opinion, demanded that TJN publish every last iota of the work done or they said no one should take regard of the work, and claimed that the press should not either.
Are they going to clamour in similar fashion because the 100 Group of finance directors and PWC are supposed to have published a report which, entirely spuriously, seeks to claim that the top 100 UK companies pay 13% of the UK's tax bill? I hope so because the report is not available on the web. The PWC press office know nothing of it. The 100 Group do not have a web site. And the claim made claim made is spurious because included in the sum 'paid' are PAYE and VAT for which the companies act only as agents and for which as such they have no liability at all.
I look forward to the howls of protest.
What this does show though is that the Tax Justice Network is a model pf transparency.
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Well said Richard.
I have to say that when I read reports of the claims of the 100 Group the first thought that went through my mind was “is that all?”.
Strip out the PAYE and VAT and see what is left. I then think a legitimate challenge would be to ask what the true, higher, percentage would be given full compliance with the spirit of the law.
and another thing…
If one does accept the argument that PAYE and VAT are included, these figures are still inevitably depressed by the use of remuneration planning aimed at avoiding PAYE and NIC as well as VAT mitigation schemes.
Richard,
The 100 Group (I don’t speak for them) has a website. Here is the link to the report. I’m just about to get stuck into a story on it for our February issue.
http://www.100groupfd.co.uk/fdgroup/?t=reports
Best wishes,
Ralph Cunningham
Managing editor, International Tax Review