Today Oxfam launched Tax Battles, a scathing report that details how unfair corporate tax laws are fueling a race to the bottom, which is costing developing countries billions of dollars in tax revenue and is increasing poverty and inequality worldwide. It also contains a list of the fifteen countries that are considered the world’s worst corporate tax havens, with Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Netherlands topping said list. Furthermore, four EU countries are on this list and a total of six European jurisdictions.
Collecting tax is one of the key means by which governments are able to address poverty and inequality. But big business is dodging tax on an industrial scale, depriving governments across the globe of the money they need to address poverty and invest in healthcare, education and jobs. This report exposes the world’s worst corporate tax havens – extreme examples of a destructive race to the bottom on corporate tax which has seen governments across the globe slash corporate tax bills in an attempt to attract business. It calls on governments to work together to put a stop to this before it is too late.
Esme Berkhout, tax policy advisor for Oxfam, said: “Corporate tax havens are helping big business cheat countries out of billions of dollars every year. They are propping up a dangerously unequal economic system that is leaving millions of people with few opportunities for a better life.”
According to UNCTAD, tax dodging by multinational corporations costs poor countries at least $100 billion every year. This is more than enough money to provide an education for the 124 million children in low and low middle income countries who aren’t in school and fund healthcare interventions that could prevent the deaths of at least six million children every year.
The full report, “Tax Battles – The dangerous global Race to the Bottom on Corporate Tax”, is available for download here:
For an interactive map of the world’s worst tax havens, click HERE.
Please take the time to add your name to this petition to world leaders to end the era of tax havens.
Image is of the skyline of Singapore, which Oxfam has found to be the fifth worst corporate tax haven in the world. Photo: Singapore Travel Guide.