Lives are being lost to disease and poverty in poor countries because of illegal trade-related tax evasion, Christian Aid claims in a report.
The charity has calculated the tax evasion costs the developing world at least $US160bn (₤81.5bn) in lost revenue a year and says the companies which are using ‘false accounting’ to reduce their tax liability are the culprits, Director of Finance reports.
If the funds were instead allocated according to current spending patterns, the lives of 350,000 children under the age of five – 250,000 of them infants – could be saved every year.
The amount of tax evaded through ‘false accounting’ is almost one and a half times the aid to the developing world every year and is in addition to the amounts lost through legal tax avoidance, the report notes.
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