Tax avoidance clampdown “could end poverty”
Stopping tax dodging in developing countries would solve many problems, believes ActionAid
Clamping down on tax avoidance and evasion in developing countries could end
hunger, pay for education for all children and stop AIDS, according to
ActionAid.
In its report, ‘Accounting for poverty: how international tax rules keep
people poor’, the anti-poverty charity called for international tax rules to be
changed to make it easier for poor countries to detect and stop tax dodging.
It estimates that developing countries could raise an extra $198bn (£121bn) a
year if tax revenues could be maintained at 15% of national income, outstripping
the $120bn given in aid.
“It would be enough to end hunger, get all children into school, stop AIDS
and still have change left over,” said Anna Thomas, head of economic and social
development at ActionAid.
The charity also called on the G20 to help develop a global tax information
exchange system to replace the current bilateral agreements begin reached
between individual countries and introduce country by country financial
reporting.
Further reading
Accounting
for poverty: how international tax rules keep people poor