The Conservative Peer, Lord Fink, admitted this week to “vanilla” tax avoidance, saying “everyone does it”. Also revealed, was the extent to which HSBC has helped rich clients to avoid tax by sheltering money in secret Swiss bank accounts. It is becoming more and more apparent that, when it comes to tax, there is one rule for the rich and another for everyone else. The Conservative Party, supported as it is by hedge fund managers and City financiers, talks about cracking down on tax avoidance but does nothing serious about it. Their friends wouldn’t like it.
An estimated £25 billion was lost to tax avoidance last year. One in five large companies pay no corporation tax at all and half pay less than £10 million, by channelling money to offshore accounts. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people follow the rules and pay their taxes, including thousands of small businesses who often struggle to compete against big corporations.
There is no level playing field in Britain today. The wealth of the Super Rich has doubled since 2008. An astonishing £1.2 trillion was used to prop up the banks after their greed and profligacy brought the financial system to the brink of disaster. Meanwhile the average family has seen its annual income squeezed by £1,200 in real terms and a host of public services have been slashed.
The Coalition’s policies have caused inequality to deepen in the aftermath of the crash, with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of the cuts. 4 million children now live in poverty, including 15% of children in this constituency and nearly one million people have used food banks. Most of these people are in work but earn very little, often subject to few employment rights and the uncertainties of zero-hours contracts.
I believe that only a Labour Government will seriously address the current situation and take on the powerful vested interests at the heart of the financial system. That is why I am standing in this election. The people of this constituency have a great opportunity in May to elect their first ever Labour MP and be part of the fight for a fairer society.
An estimated £25 billion was lost to tax avoidance last year. One in five large companies pay no corporation tax at all and half pay less than £10 million, by channelling money to offshore accounts. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people follow the rules and pay their taxes, including thousands of small businesses who often struggle to compete against big corporations.
There is no level playing field in Britain today. The wealth of the Super Rich has doubled since 2008. An astonishing £1.2 trillion was used to prop up the banks after their greed and profligacy brought the financial system to the brink of disaster. Meanwhile the average family has seen its annual income squeezed by £1,200 in real terms and a host of public services have been slashed.
The Coalition’s policies have caused inequality to deepen in the aftermath of the crash, with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of the cuts. 4 million children now live in poverty, including 15% of children in this constituency and nearly one million people have used food banks. Most of these people are in work but earn very little, often subject to few employment rights and the uncertainties of zero-hours contracts.
I believe that only a Labour Government will seriously address the current situation and take on the powerful vested interests at the heart of the financial system. That is why I am standing in this election. The people of this constituency have a great opportunity in May to elect their first ever Labour MP and be part of the fight for a fairer society.