TUC wants tax loophole changes
Britain’s richest individuals and companies are costing taxpayers £13 billion a year, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.
It has published a pamphlet today claiming the effective rate of corporation tax is 22.5 per cent, significantly less than the proper 30 per cent rate, and has fallen by 0.5 per cent a year in the six years to 2006.
‘Super-rich’ individuals are also evading their “fair share” through investment income, shifting the income to others, moving transactions out of the UK and turning income into capital gain, the pamphlet says.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber argues the government’s allegedly progressive tax system is undermined by excessive loopholes for the richest in society.
“This is not the politics of envy but the economics of fairness. It is all about getting rich and powerful people to understand they must play by the rules, not look for ways round them,” he said.
“It’s time for a new campaign for a fair tax system – a campaign that can unite the vast majority of the population who do play by the rules and have nothing to fear from our proposals.”
The TUC pamphlet calls for a minimum tax rate for all those earning over £100,000, an end to staff cuts at HM Revenue and Customs and the closing of the ‘non-dom’ loophole.
Mr Barber said he wanted to see the extra revenue poured into public services, alleviating real-term pay cuts seen across the public sector.
But he acknowledged: “You do not have to agree with our spending priorities to back our call for fair tax, and we recognise the argument at this difficult economic time for boosting the income of low and middle Britain through tax cuts.”
