How much do you know about tax havens? Once you get start reading about how rich companies and individuals avoid paying tax by hiding their income, I think you’ll want to know more.
10 global tax havens have strong links to the UK. British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies like the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Montserrat allow rich companies and individuals to avoid paying tax by hiding their income from the countries where the money should be taxed.
The lost income from just one type of dodging scheme - transfer mispricing - is estimated to be worth around $160 billion.
Here in Britain, the government has made deep cuts to social services across the nation in the name of austerity, and food banks have sprung up in many major towns and cities. Around the world, 1 in 8 people go to bed hungry every night. In Zambia, a recent report showed local market traders paid more tax than some big multinationals.
What could governments of both poor and rich countries do for their people, if they claimed the tax dodged through havens?
Next month, the G8 will be held in Northern Ireland. We think David Cameron needs to know that the British public won’t put up with tax havens any longer. The vast majority of ordinary people pay their taxes every year. It’s time the dodgers followed our example.
Sign our petition: Cameron, close all tax havens
We’re not the only ones interested in tax dodging, though. Plenty of other amazing organisations from around the world have put together videos illustrating the global scandal of tax havens, and we’ve picked the best for a week of creativity and sharing.
Here’s the first: Tax havens 101
Everything you never knew you wanted to know about those islands in the sun (mostly) that hide billions every year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gy2RgjIIZyA
Fighting for a fairer, safer, better world.
