Oxfordshire should be against tax dodging

Green Party Councillors on Oxfordshire County Council  are being urged to support campaigns to close tax loopholes which  undermine public spending by all local authorities.

Councillor David Williams, leader of the Green Group on Oxfordshire County Council explains:

“The UK Treasury loses an estimated £12 billion to tax dodging by multinational companies every year. The use of tax havens by UK companies is rife, with 98 of the FTSE 100 companies routinely using tax havens. Nationally, nearly half of local authority funding comes from central government – financed from general taxation which includes corporation tax. This makes corporate tax avoidance an issue directly relevant to the provision of local government services, as well as to the provision of public services around the world.

“Our calculation is that Oxfordshire County Council is losing millions due to loopholes, at a time whenit had been making severe cuts to spending and services due to Government cuts.

“We are asking the Chief Executive of the County to write to the Minister for Trade and Industry (Vince Cable MP) seeking the closure of tax loopholes, an end to the Treasury write off system and to work with EU partners to close down offshore tax havens.”