SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has shown his solidarity with hundreds of campaigners from Oxfam, Christian Aid and Action Aid who transformed London’s Trafalgar Square into a ‘Tax Haven Beach Scene’ this week.
The campaign was designed to bring home how corruption in tax havens – including in Britain’s Overseas territories and Crown Dependencies – is harming the world’s poorest countries.
The event was organised to coincide with the opening of the Global Anti-Corruption Summit in London hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Durkan, who is Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Anti-Corruption, also chaired a meeting at Westminster this week exploring the connections between economic crime, corruption and conflicts affecting sub-Saharan Africa – and what MPs hope to achieve at the Summit and beyond.
He said: “I was delighted to attend this event in Trafalgar Square and show my solidarity with campaigners calling for an end to the global scourge of corruption and tax avoidance.
“One in five tax havens worldwide are under UK jurisdiction.
“However, while all of the British Overseas Territories have committed to joining the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, none have actually done so and no timeframe has been set in which they will do so.
“I have therefore joined fellow APPG members in calling on David Cameron to ‘strain every sinew’ in order to achieve transparency – and take action both domestically and internationally to tackle the use of tax havens by multinational companies and wealthy individuals operating in the UK or in territories under its jurisdiction.
“The SDLP have consistently condemned corporate tax avoidance and the rich and powerful using tax havens to hide their wealth – and have taken action at Westminster to end this culture.
“We need to see the introduction of urgent legislation to help close tax havens and increase transparency so that the very rich pay their fair share of tax in their respective countries and enable governments worldwide to invest more in jobs and growth.
“Last year I also hosted the ‘Make Tax Fairer’ campaign at Westminster and have chaired numerous meetings between MPs, Lords and NGO’s (including Oxfam, Christian Aid and Action Aid) in support of a new Tax Dodging Bill.
“Importantly, such a Bill would help raise billions of pounds in the UK and in developing countries which could help improve vital services like health, education and roads.
“Big multinationals and wealthy individuals are not only getting away with evading tax here but also from the exchequers of developing countries. Indeed, if these countries got their due tax they may not need as much in foreign aid.
“I will therefore continue to campaign to make it harder for big companies and individuals to dodge taxes here and ensure that UK tax rules don’t encourage tax avoidance in developing countries.
“In the wake of the Global Anti-Corruption Summit, we need to see tighter systems put in place to make it harder for corrupt practices to flourish – not least in terms of tax avoidance.”