Investors who want to ensure their money supports ethical concerns should add tax behaviour to the criteria by which companies are judged, Christian Aid says today.<\/p>\n
\u2018Along with traditional concerns such as involvement in tobacco, weapons and environmental issues, a company should also be assessed on its tax practices,\u2019 says Dr David McNair, Christian Aid\u2019s Principal Adviser on Economic Justice.<\/p>\n
\u2018Companies should contribute to the societies in which they work. Paying tax is a major way\u00a0in which they can do so, helping fund schools, hospitals and other essential public services.<\/p>\n
\u2018To qualify as an ethical investment, Christian Aid believes a company must pay its taxes in a transparent way. This includes paying the taxes they owe in the countries where the work which generated the profits actually took place.<\/p>\n
\u2018Some unscrupulous multinational corporations use the secrecy offered by the world\u2019s tax havens to avoid, or even evade, the tax they owe, which has a particularly damaging impact on the poorer countries where they operate.<\/p>\n
\u2018At present, we estimate that tax dodging by multinationals costs developing countries some $160bn a year in lost tax revenue \u2014 one-and-a-half\u00a0times\u00a0the amount they receive from rich countries in aid. This harms millions of people living in poverty.\u2019<\/p>\n