Julian Huppert writes… Clamping down on Tax Dodging

by danielbarker on 30 January, 2015

Published on Liberal Democrat Voice By Julian Huppert MP | Tue 27th January 2015 – 4:27 pm

Tax dodging is plain wrong. There can be absolutely no justification for the wealthy not paying what they owe.

More than any other party, we know how important it is to have a fair tax system. Before the last elections, we pledged to lift the income tax threshold to £10,000. We have surpassed this by raising it to £10,600, lifting more than 3 million low earners out of paying income tax altogether.

At the top, we’ve made sure more people pay their fair bit. We’ve set up a new special unit – the first of its kind – to tackle tax dodging and beefed up criminal prosecutions for tax evasion. Our ‘google tax’ announced in the latest Autumn Statement is yet another move we’ve taken to show international companies they must pay their fair share.

And our approach is working. The IFS report last week confirmed the richest have contributed the most since 2010. It is expected we will have brought in an additional £7 bn by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.

But we absolutely must continue moving forward. There are still far too many individuals and companies exploiting loopholes and using clever accountants to dodge paying tax.

That’s why the Stop the Global Tax Dodge campaign is so timely. A coalition of charities – including Oxfam, ActionAid, Christin Aid, NUS, the Equality Trust, amongst others – are saying political parties should commit to doing more to clamp down on avoidance and evasion in their manifestos. They are absolutely right. We must make the tax framework simpler and more transparent, and get even tougher on those who think the rules don’t apply to them.

David Laws, our Manifesto Working Group chair, has made it clear that our Manifesto will set out new measures to tackle tax dodging. It is essential it does. Without it, we won’t be able to bring in the extra resources to invest in our future.

Liberal Democrats know that without innovative solutions we can’t continue to make society fairer. Moreover, we are the only party that really has the will to take on vested interests and make sure everyone pays their bit. More than ever, we need to continue standing up for what is right and make sure people at the top pay what they owe.

* Julian Huppert is Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge.

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