The headlines in today’s British press are dominated by stories related to corporate tax avoidance. On the day that theparliamentary Public Accounts Committee issues its hard-hitting report on the “outrageous” culture of the corporate tax avoidance industry, and calls for Her Majesty’s Revenue andCustoms to sharpen its act on tackling this culture, newspapers on all sides of the political spectrum are united in condemning this long running scandal.
TJN can fairly claim to have been the early path breaker on this issue in the UK, helped by various political following winds (such as austerity and governments’ quest for revenue) and by stalwart organisations such as UK Uncut and Occupy more recently, along with various other non-governmental organisations, and individuals and others.
Watch out in seven days time when we hit the headlines again with our proposals for how to overcome the horrible international problem of corporate tax avoidance.
Here is a selection of the today’s headlines:
Daily Telegraph: People ‘right to be angry’ about tax avoidance by big foreign firms, says George Osborne
- People are right to be angry about foreign multi-national companies not paying their fair share in tax, George Osborne has said.
Financial Times: Clampdown on tax dodge by multinationals
- George Osborne will on Monday set out plans for a “£10bn tax dodging clampdown”, as he struggles to control the deficit and contain a growing outcry over the tax treatment of multinationals, including Starbucks.
The Guardian: Amazon, Google and Starbucks attacked by MPs over tax avoidance
- Report also criticises HM Revenue & Customs for leniency in dealing with corporations that pay little or no corporation tax
MailOnline: Osborne targets big business as Britain is robbed of £32billion tax
- Chancellor George Osborne will try to bring forward a £10billion clampdown on tax avoidance by multinationals and the rich
- The Commons Public Accounts Committee has accused HM Revenue and Customs of being ‘way too lenient’ on big companies
Mirror: Talking tax over coffee: Starbucks announces payment U-turn ahead of damning report on avoidance
- Despite the fact the companies are doing nothing illegal, critics claimed the move by Starbucks was a “blatant admission of guilt”
