Tax Avoidance Must End (Tame) campaigns for the end of tax avoidance in the UK and wants your support. Get the facts, read the news, see the villain of the week, find out what is being done about it, and become involved.
The Problem
Tax avoidance costs the UK £10bn/year. This is caused by greed. Major companies avoid corporation tax by registering abroad and rich individuals use dodgy tax schemes. In the last year:
- Amazon paid £1.8m corporation tax; it had UK sales of £3.3bn
- Facebook paid £238k in corporation tax; it had UK sales of £175m
- Google paid £6m in corporation tax; it had UK sales of £2.5bn
- Microsoft paid no corporation tax; it had online UK sales of £1.7bn
- Starbucks paid no corporation tax
- Vodafone paid no corporation tax
- Jimmy Carr paid 1% tax and sheltered £3.3m
The Villains lists 33 offenders.
Taxes are a necessary evil. No one wants to pay them, but we know we have to. They underpin our society. So why should these tax dodgers be allowed to get away with it? They are not above the law. They don’t pay, but should pay. What they are doing is not illegal, but it is immoral.
Some people say it is acceptable what these companies are doing because it keeps their prices low. But it is still wrong. The government collects less tax than it would otherwise, which means to make up the shortfall we have bigger cuts, less spending, and more tax paid by the rest of us. Their actions skew competition. UK-based shops are undercut by Amazon and others, and struggle to survive.
The Facts has more information about tax avoidance.
The Solution
Tame says that if you earn money in the UK then you pay tax in the UK; whether it’s a multinational company or a rich celebrity. It’s what the rest of us have to do.
Change is possible. The comedian Jimmy Carr started paying more tax after the outcry about his tax arrangements. Starbucks has said it will pay more tax following similar criticism. 81% of us think the government should do more to address this issue.
Get involved to help end this abuse of our society. As more people call for the end of tax avoidance so Tame will take this to the government and the villains:
- Complete the two-question survey about tax avoidance that asks:
- Do you think tax avoidance is a major problem in the UK?
- Do you think the government should do more to end tax avoidance in the UK?
- Give your comments about tax avoidance on any of the other pages on the website.
- What Can I Do About Tax Avoidance? says what action you could take.
- Go to the News page or follow Tame on Twitter for the latest updates.
Villain Of The Week: Amazon
Not for nothing is Amazon the world’s largest online retailer. Last year Amazon UK paid corporation tax of £1.8m on profits of £74m; equivalent to 2.4%. It had UK sales of £3.3bn. Amazon UK gave evidence to a recent inquiry by Parliament into tax avoidance. The subsequent report states that Amazon UK was “evasive and unprepared to answer legitimate questions.” The company’s website says nothing about corporate responsibility, though it sells plenty of books about it. Go to the Amazon page for more information, including a letter to the villain and how you can contact them.