I like roads without holes in them. And hospitals and schools with enough staff in them. I think everyone can agree they’re pretty useful right? Here in the UK we may take what we have (imperfect as it may be) for granted, and fair enough, but I do appreciate these things that make everyone's lives better. And how is all this possible? Through taxes of course. 

I’m proud that I pay my taxes. I benefit from others paying theirs, so it’s only right that I pay my own fair share. I just wish that was the case for all of us. It’s a sad fact that there are big corporations here in the UK that use loopholes in the law to avoid paying their fair share in tax.

Every year the UK loses billions of pounds to corporate tax dodging, while developing countries lose an estimated $160 billion a year from corporate tax dodging. Money which could be used to fight poverty.

And the incredible thing about this is that much of this is legal. Big corporations are taking advantage of an unfair system that allows them to dodge paying their fair share, benefitting themselves at the expense of the rest of society, including more responsible businesses.

The good news

It doesn’t have to be this way. On the 7th of May the UK has a General Election. In the coming months we have a real opportunity to influence the priorities of the future government for the next 5 years. 

Politicians can change the UK’s tax rules to make sure that companies here pay their fair share of tax when they do business here, with the proceeds able to tackle poverty in the UK. Not only that, the UK’s tax rules can also help ensure UK companies pay their fair share of tax wherever else they operate - which includes some of the world's poorest countries. 

We are calling on all political parties to pledge to introduce a Tax Dodging Bill in the first 100 days after the election, and make tax fairer. The potential benefits are huge. We estimate that the Tax Dodging Bill could generate at least £3.6 billion more a year in tax to fight poverty in the UK, and billions more for developing countries. These reforms will also create a level playing field which is a benefit for responsible companies that are paying their fair share already.

We’re calling for a law that will:

• Make it harder for big companies to dodge UK taxes and ensure they’re not getting unfair tax breaks
• Ensure UK tax rules don’t encourage big companies to avoid tax in developing countries
• Make the UK tax regime more transparent and tougher on tax dodging

We are also calling for political parties to commit to using the funds raised in the UK to tackle poverty here.

We can win this – but we need your voice. Tell the political leaders that this matters to you, and sign the petition. Together, we can make tax fair.