{"id":25881,"date":"2014-08-29T06:53:26","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T05:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=25881"},"modified":"2014-08-29T06:53:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T05:53:26","slug":"more-people-have-mobile-phones-in-the-world-than-have-access-to-a-toilet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2014\/08\/29\/more-people-have-mobile-phones-in-the-world-than-have-access-to-a-toilet\/","title":{"rendered":"More people have mobile phones in the world than have access to a toilet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Guardian features a story today <\/a>that is on one of the most basic issues in the world: where we defecate.<\/p>\n

And as they report, 2.5 billion people in the world do not have access to toilets that properly separate human waste from human contact.<\/p>\n

The issue is of staggering significance to health, gender equality, education and growth.<\/p>\n

It's about basic human dignity.<\/p>\n

It's about equality.<\/p>\n

It's about rights.<\/p>\n

I find it staggering that around the world it s reported that more people have access to mobile phones than do a loo.<\/p>\n

And that says something is seriously wrong. I'm not decrying mobile technology. I am a massive user of it. But if I had the choice for my family, a loo or a mobile, it's a but of a no-brainer really, isn't it? You'd take the toilet too, wouldn't you?<\/p>\n

So why doesn't it happen? Isn't it obvious? It's \u00a0lack of tax fuelled by a lack of effective government. The two go hand in hand. That's obvious, I would have thought.<\/p>\n

It was the rise of local government and broader based taxation in the UK that created effective sanitation in the Victorian era, and with it a health revolution. The industry may be privatised now, but it was the ending of private company involvement in water<\/a> in the UK that delivered clean water and effective sewerage systems in this country.<\/p>\n

In developing countries each scenario will have to be addressed on its own merits, of course. But I find it very hard to see how, ultimately, effective sanitation on the scale required cann be delivered without a role for government and public funding to ensure that the externalities that are an implicit part of this issue can be properly addressed.<\/p>\n

And where could the money come from?<\/p>\n

Creating effective tax systems is a massive priority. In many cases this revolves around taxing companies, who have a much bigger role to play in these countries. Our reforms to corporation tax,<\/a> which I have been banging on about, undermine that role.<\/p>\n

Beating the abuse of developing countries' tax systems by\u00a0multinational corporations would help. That's one of the reasons for\u00a0country-by-country reporting.<\/p>\n

Beating tax haven abuse by many wealthy elites from these countries is vital.<\/p>\n

To be blunt, ending illicit financial flows is essential if sewage is to flow.<\/p>\n

The campaign link is almost obvious. And think of the stickers:<\/p>\n

\"This toilet is flushed by tax\"<\/p>\n

\"Taking the pee: tax havens\"<\/p>\n

\"Make sewage flow, not money\"<\/p>\n

\"Shit should flow: money does\" (Apologies for those offended, but this is what this is about)<\/p>\n

This is what I was motivated by when I came into tax justice. I still am. And I still think tax is the answer.<\/p>\n

And I can almost see the response. It will be \"Money down the drain\". I defy someone to say it.<\/p>\n

What if it was your child who had to go into a field at night to relieve themselves? It's time we addressed this now. And we could.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Guardian features a story today that is on one of the most basic issues in the world: where we defecate. And as they report,
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