Agenda item

Payment of Tax

It was moved by Councillor Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, seconded by Councillor Neale Gibson, that this Council:-

(a)       agrees that paying taxes is a duty for all citizens and believes in the benefits national taxes give to society;

(b)       notes that tax revenues fund the majority of the country’s healthcare services, schools, pensions and judicial system, as well as roads, armed forces and social infrastructure;

(c)        also notes the substantial academic research which shows that societies with healthy economies, more equality, social protection, and intervention to protect vulnerable groups, have smaller undeclared economies which leads to more tax being collected for the benefit of all;

(d)       is disappointed that under this current Conservative/Liberal Democrat Government, the gap between tax owed and tax collected, according to HMRC, is a staggering £34 billion, with prosecutions at an unacceptably low level;

(e)       questions why, when the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has held many hearings into tax avoidance, there has been no subsequent investigations by HM Treasury?;

(f)        notes that the billions of pounds in uncollected taxes sits alongside a programme of Government cuts which has seen vulnerable people being victimized by a myriad of economic hardships and that taking a tougher stance on tax avoidance and evasion could mean an end to austerity;

(g)       reminds members of the current Government that the work of the tax authority (HMRC) is under their control and as such it is their responsibility to ensure there are sufficient, well trained staff within HMRC to carry out the important function of tax collection for the benefit of all citizens;

(h)       therefore welcomes the commitment by The Rt. Hon, Ed Miliband MP, that a future Labour government would instigate an immediate independent review into the culture and practices of HMRC in regard to tax avoidance;

(i)         recognises that for many small businesses and start-ups, taxes can prevent them from growing and stifle innovation;

(j)         is therefore pleased to hear that a Labour government would put small business first in line for tax cuts and the support they need to invest and raise productivity for the benefit of all;

(k)        believes that a more positive communication strategy by HMRC to the general public would assist in making people aware of what their taxes pay for and encourage more compliance, and that the public also need to feel confident that those that evade tax will be pursued and prosecuted;

(l)         as such, urges the Government to tighten up loopholes which allows business and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share and cheating the rest of society; and

(m)      requests that a copy of this Motion be forwarded to The Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and The Rt. Hon. Ed Balls MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Andrew Sangar, seconded by Councillor Colin Ross, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of paragraphs (d) to (h) and the addition of new paragraphs (d) and (e) as follows:-

(d)       thanks the Liberal Democrats in government for the steps they’ve made in tackling the problem of tax evasion by:

(i)        a tenfold increase in prosecutions relating to tax crimes;

(ii)       closing 33 tax loopholes;

(iii)      improving tax data systems to retrieve over £1bn from fraud;

(iv)      making deals with tax havens like Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Channel Islands;

(v)       introducing the General Anti-Abuse Rule; and

(vi)      securing £100 billion in additional revenue over the course of this Parliament – including £31 billion from big business;

(e)       notes that in the event of a Liberal Democrat majority in the next Parliament, they would crack down further on evasion through a series of measures, including:-

(i)        for offshore evaders, following consultation, the Liberal Democrats would introduce a new strict liability criminal offence so pleading ignorance can’t be used to avoid criminal prosecution;

(ii)       introducing a new offence of corporate failure to prevent tax evasion or the facilitation of tax evasion;

(iii)      increasing financial penalties for offshore evaders – including, for the first time, linking the penalty to underlying assets;

(iv)      introducing new civil penalties so those who help evaders will have to pay fines that match the size of the tax dodge they facilitate; and

(v)        extending the scope for HMRC to name and shame both evaders and those who enable evasion;

2.         the deletion of paragraphs (j) and (m) and the relettering of paragraphs (i), (k) and (l) as new paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) respectively; and

3.         the insertion, in the new paragraph (h), of the word “further” between the words “to” and “tighten”.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived. 

Following a Right of Reply by Councillor Helen Mirfin Boukouris, the original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-