Grants / Projects we are funding

Campaign to increase the amount of tax companies pay: Tax Justice UK

Grant details

Amount:£91,600

Awarded on:01/02/2018

Duration:2 years

Status:Closed

Area of interest

Systems change

Themes covered

Regulation

With a desire to have Scandinavian style public services but a reluctance to increase taxes the UK is raising too little money to fund the services that we really need. And taxes are not spread fairly across society: the richest 10% pay just 34% of their income in taxes, but the poorest 10% pay 42%. In addition the UK has the lowest corporation tax rate in the G7. To change the nature of the debate on tax, we need a more positive dialogue about why we pay it, and we need to make sure corporations pay what is fair

What is the issue?

Companies in the UK do not contribute their fair share of tax – partly due to tax avoidance, but also because the current government believes that it should ‘compete’ with other countries to attract investment by reducing tax rates and offering tax reliefs to companies. This forces individual taxpayers to pick up the tab, and leaves vital public services woefully underfunded. It undermines the fairness and sustainability of the British economy.

What will the project try to achieve?

Tax Justice UK will work with parliamentarians and other campaigning organisations to lobby the government to increase corporation tax rates and to launch a thorough and public review of corporate tax reliefs, analysing the costs and benefits of each and removing those that serve no useful purpose, and to clamp down on tax avoidance by introducing laws that require greater transparency and by increasing the resourcing of enforcement agencies, especially HMRC.

Who might be interested in this project?

Anyone with an interest in ensuring that our society is run for the benefit of all, and that we thereby able to reduce inequality, support stronger public services and build a fairer economy and society.