{"id":32129,"date":"2016-01-26T13:41:42","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T13:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=32129"},"modified":"2016-01-27T06:57:16","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T06:57:16","slug":"ask-your-council-to-get-tough-with-tax-dodgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2016\/01\/26\/ask-your-council-to-get-tough-with-tax-dodgers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask your council to get tough with tax dodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am pleased to share this press release from Christian Aid on a campaign I support:<\/span><\/span><\/em>

Today (27th January<\/a>) a campaign has been launched across England and Northern\u00a0<\/span>Ireland urging people to lobby their local councils to get tough with companies that\u00a0<\/span>dodge tax. The Fair Tax Mark will be supporting this campaign, which has been developed by Christian Aid.\u00a0<\/span>Corporate tax evasion and avoidance are having an incredibly damaging impact on the world\u2019s poorest countries, to such a level that it is costing them $160bn a year - far more than they receive in aid.<\/span>

Councils in England alone spend some \u00a345 billion a year\u00a0<\/span>buying\u00a0<\/span>goods and services from companies and that gives them a lot of influence\u00a0<\/span>over suppliers.\u00a0<\/span>The prospect of losing a multi-million pound contract is likely to\u00a0<\/span>concentrate some companies\u2019 minds and make them think harder about\u00a0<\/span>whether to dodge tax, here or in a developing country.<\/span>

A<\/span>s part of the campaign for local councils to tackle tax dodging, it is\u00a0envisaged\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span>bidders for local c<\/span>ouncil contracts would be asked to account for their past tax record<\/span>. In addition, the Fair Tax Mark will be flagged as an example of enlightened business practice and a demonstration that not all businesses are aggressive tax dodgers, but rather accept that they need to pay the right amount of corporation tax in the right place at the right time.\u00a0<\/span>

Already, some are moving in the right direction. In December, Oxford\u00a0<\/span>City Council voted unanimously to investigate whether and how the\u00a0<\/span>council can include rigorous questions about companies\u2019 tax practices in\u00a0<\/span>council procurement procedures. Detailed tax compliance questions have\u00a0<\/span>been adopted by Belfast City Council, and the Fair Tax Mark has been engaging with a major city in northern England and expects to be to announce a major positive development very soon.\u00a0<\/span>

Paul Monaghan of the Fair Tax Mark commented: \"This campaign has the\u00a0potential\u00a0to be the ultimate\u00a0carrot\u00a0and stick. It aims to hurt the tax dodgers via the loss of lucrative contracts, whilst incentivising those paying a fair share of tax. People already rightly expect their local council to screen out<\/span>\u00a0suppliers engaged in fraud, corruption and child labour. Tax dodging can and should be added to this list, especially at a time when local government is faced with so many painful cuts to local services.\"<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the campaign, councils will be urged to pass supporting motions that will push forward the cause of ethical procurement as below.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Model Motion<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\n

Council notes that:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n