PCS: MPs to discuss campaign against tax dodgers
MPs will hear from tax justice campaigners at a special parliamentary event tomorrow (2 Feb) organised by the Public and Commercial Services union.
The meeting, from 2pm to 4pm in the Houses of Parliament, will be an opportunity to discuss ways of tackling the £120 billion in tax that is lost to our economy every year through tax avoidance and evasion, and because HM Revenue and Customs does not have sufficient resources to collect what is owed.
The event is part of a week of campaigning for tax justice and against cuts in HMRC, which kicked off yesterday (31 Jan) with the presentation to George Osborne of an award for being the UK’s worst ‘tax shirker’. The chancellor won more than a third of the vote in an online poll run by PCS, the TUC and War on Want and hosted on the False Economy website.
Representatives from these organisations were joined by activists from anti-tax avoidance group UK Uncut at a special prize-giving at the Conservative party’s HQ in London.
Speakers at tomorrow’s meeting include PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, TUC deputy general secretary Frances O’Grady, Richard Murphy of the Tax Justice Network, Ruth Tanner of War on Want, Alison Garnham of Child Poverty Action Group, and Dot Gibson of the National Pensioners’ Convention.
Mark Serwotka said: “Recent street protests against tax avoidance have shown there is growing anger that some very wealthy people are not paying their fair share in tax and the government is letting them get away with it”
“Our message to MPs is that recognising this anger is only the first step, we need to do something about it. Collecting the missing billions in tax would be part of the alternative to spending cuts if there was the political will to make it happen.”
ENDS
Notes
– For information and interview requests contact PCS national press officer Richard Simcox on 020 7801 2747 or 07833 978216
– The Public and Commercial Services union represents civil and public servants in central government. It has more than 300,000 members in over 200 departments and agencies, and in parts of government transferred to the private sector. PCS is the UK’s sixth largest union and is affiliated to the TUC. The general secretary is Mark Serwotka and the president is Janice Godrich
– Follow PCS on Twitter
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