News 30th March 2016

Open Government Network calls on the Chancellor to make commitments to tax transparency

by Tim Hughes

The UK Open Government Network has written to George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposing three commitments for inclusion in the UK’s 2016-18 Open Government Partnership National Action Plan:

  1. Make UK registered companies (that operate beyond the UK) publish their taxes, profits and other key economic data for each country where they do business.
  2. Put into place a system for publically reviewing, on an ongoing basis, all tax related incentives and benefits.
  3. Increase the transparency of tax treaties, by publishing the criteria used to guide decisions about when, where and how to negotiate tax treaties; and publicly state the objectives for each treaty negotiation.

The letter, which is published in full below, states:

“There is growing public concern about the social and economic impact of low effective corporate tax rates across the world. Additionally, the use of low tax jurisdictions by multinational companies to shift profits and reduce global tax bills must be tackled. The UK has an important opportunity to take a lead in making the tax system more transparent and therefore more effective.”

The letter is signed by:

  • Alan Hudson, Global Integrity
  • Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network
  • Alexandra Runswick, Unlock Democracy
  • Christine Allen, Christian Aid
  • David Banisar, ARTICLE 19
  • Girish Menon, ActionAid UK
  • Jonathan Gray, Open Knowledge
  • Julian Tait, Open Data Manchester
  • Miles Litvinoff, Publish What You Pay UK
  • Oliver Pearce, Oxfam
  • Richard Murphy, Tax Research
  • Shauna Leven, Global Witness
  • Tim Davies, Practical Participation
  • Tim Hughes, UK Open Government Network coordinator
  • Vicki Hird, War on Want
  • Vivek Ramkumar, International Budget Partnership

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