Rip off retailers – protestors highlight billionaire tax dodgers
Article published: Monday, December 6th 2010
Several major tax dodging businesses were called to account last Saturday by around 50 angry demonstrators in Manchester, who were calling for a stop to large scale corporate tax avoidance at a time of of severe public spending cuts.
Outside Topman on Market Street. By Richard Searle
The ‘Scroogey Santas’ protest started at 3pm at Piccadilly Gardens, with stores of companies such as Barclays, Topshop, Vodafone and Boots all on the agenda. All the companies visited have been accused of massive tax evasion and have also played a role in pushing for the harsh austerity cuts announced by the government in October.
Phillip Green, owner of the Arcadia Group which owns many high street stores such as Topshop and Miss Selfridges, was the source of much of the protestors’ anger, due to revelations that he has avoided billions in tax. Arcadia made a record breaking £1.2 billion dividends payment in 2005 to Green’s wife (the nominal owner of the group) who lives in the tax haven of Monaco – meaning no UK income tax had to be paid on the money.
Green also made headlines in October of this year, when he was commissioned to conduct an external review of the government’s spending. This caused an outcry due to the fact that he has funnelled away millions from the public purse – and yet was commissioned by the government to consult on how to make ‘efficiency savings’ in the public sector.
One protestor described the £1bn pound tax avoidance committed by Barclays Bank as “disgusting.” He also said that he “didn’t understand the banks way of thinking,” stating that “the government shouldn’t have bailed them out if this is how they treat us.”
Not everyone was supportive of the protests however, with two angry Christmas shoppers barging their way through the human chain that formed outside Boots on Market Street.
Many members of the public were very supportive however, joining in with the chants of “Tax dodgers go to hell, take your Tory mates as well.” One women described the actions of the protestors as “commendable,” saying that “they should be proud of themselves.”
The protests are another incident in a series of actions that have been taken up and down the UK over the governments proposed spending cuts. On Saturday stores in Birmingham, Glasgow, York and Bristol were targeted, while protestors managed to shut down the flagshop Topshop outlet in London.
Critics of the cuts, including the national network UKUncut, which called for the protests on the weekend, argue that the cuts are unnecessary – citing that in the last four years, Revenue and Customs have lost out on a reported £13.4bn from corporations due to tax avoidance. If this money was reclaimed, many of the planned cuts to welfare, education and health services, they say, would not need to be made.
Sam Worrall
More: Manchester, News
Comments
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Christian Aid have a campaign “Trace the Tax” with e actions (including to Vodaphone) asking for transparency and standards that would reveal where tax wheezes occur.
To follow it: http://act.christianaid.org.uk/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=48&ea.campaign.id=7647
Comment by Stephen Pennells on December 20, 2010 at 7:54 pm
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