They say only death and taxes are certain, but we know for sure that tax avoidance and evasion cause needless death. The half a trillion dollars of revenue lost per year worldwide supercharges inequality and represents the biggest obstacle to progressive taxation. Reverse this, and each year 17 million more people could benefit from clean water, and 34 million from basic sanitation. Over a 10-year period, that could help prevent 600,000 child deaths.
The group of rich countries who dominate the setting of international tax rules and standards are also responsible, through the financial secrecy they provide and the profit shifting they facilitate, for the great majority of cross-border tax abuse. None more so than the UK, with its ‘spider’s web’ of Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
