3 Enniskillen, delegates add NIPSA Conference their signatures to the IF campaign
June 2013
not, why not?
message...there is enough food for everyone…how to help pay for a end to the world’s tax havens! In spite of the heavy rain thousands of people turned out for the BIG IF Belfast held on Saturday 15 June in the city’s Botanic Gardens. The event was organised by the “Enough Food for Everyone IF” campaign in Northern Ireland.
major firms – Google, Apple, Starbucks and Amazon – have minimised their tax bills. Illegal activities, including tax evasion and money laundering, will be tackled by automated sharing tax information.
However, poor countries haven’t been Just two days before the start of the G8 included in this deal, so authorities in the Summit at Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, developing world won’t be able to access the people of Northern Ireland sent a clear this information to claim back tax owed to message to the world leaders that it’s time them – funds which could have been spent to tackle global hunger and save the lives dealing with hunger and malnutrition. of millions. The test of this year’s G8 summit was whether they agreed to an ambitious plan to tackle tax dodging that could benefit all countries. Specifically, they had to agree One of the Campaign’s Big IF’s was to put a to shine a light on phantom firms and support a new standard on tax information stop to tax dodging by large corporations. exchanged from which all can benefit. They The G8 agreement means that more tax failed to deliver on this for the poorest authorities will be able to find out who owns countries battling hunger who can’t afford so-called phantom firms (companies which to wait to be included. Urgent work is operate as a front for other organisations as therefore needed on a timeline of when a way to siphon cash through tax havens) this tax information will be shared with and crack down on tax dodging. It follows developing countries. revelations about the way in which several
G8 Tax Deal Leaves Major Unfinished Business