1,000 signatures reached
To: UK Government
Insist that companies asking for a UK tax-payer funded bailout sign up to a Fair Tax Pledge
We, the general public, call on the UK Government to insist that businesses sign up to fair tax conditions (a ‘Fair Tax Lockdown’) before they are eligible for a bespoke tax-payer funded Coronavirus bailout package.
Why is this important?
The UK Government is providing a necessary and welcome package of financial measures to workers and business through the Covid-19 crisis – not least via the furlough job retention scheme.
However, should financial bailouts be agreed for distinct business sectors, we believe that this should be conditional on a series of responsible tax conduct commitments. Such conditions would further embed responsible tax practices and help maintain a level playing field for business. Across the world, some £400 billion of global corporate profits are shifted annually to tax havens. In the UK, this manifests itself as an annual corporation tax shortfall of some £7 billion.
We, the public, call on the UK Government to insist that businesses requesting a tax-payer funded bailout commit to a set of fair tax conditions, as put forward by the Fair Tax Mark in their ‘Fair Tax Lockdown’:
1. Publish a binding tax policy that explicitly shuns tax avoidance and the artificial use of tax havens, and commits to the declaration of profits in the place where their economic substance arises (i.e., no profit-shifting). This policy should be the subject of an annual compliance audit, and be “owned” by a designated board director.
2. Ensure that the consolidated annual profit & loss of the parent company is publicly available, together with details of associated corporation tax payments (total, current and deferred tax). Multinational enterprise should disclose this on a Country-by-Country basis. A current tax reconciliation should be provided, together with a narrative to explain any deviations from the headline tax rate(s).
3. Make clear who the ultimate beneficial owners of the business are, and those with significant control.
We believe that these measures are fair, material and proportionate. If a business is not actively involved in tax avoidance, these conditions can quickly and easily be committed to.
To find out more about the Fair Tax Lockdown call to action you could visit the Fair Tax Mark website https://fairtaxmark.net/
or follow them at https://twitter.com/FairTaxMark
and https://www.facebook.com/FairTaxMark/
