THE NEED FOR UK ACTION ON GLOBAL HUNGER - Enough Food IF

The g20 has also worked to openup the multilateral convention forglobal signature, and to considermaking information available on anautomatic basis. 128These moves are welcome, butdo not go far enough in practice.governments and tax havens whoseek the economic benefits of globaltrade should be required to exchangefull information about tax affairs,to enable states to generate greaterrevenues for development.meanwhile, the rest of the world isincreasingly demanding that wealthiercountries stop dragging their feet andtackle tax havens and tax dodging.Indian president pranab mukherjeehas called for the obligatory,global automatic exchange of taxinformation, describing it as ‘one ofthe most effective ways to reduce taxevasion’. 129 India has also called on theg20 to ensure that tax havens jointhis regime. 130 With insufficient actionby the wealthiest countries, othersare starting their own initiatives: 21african countries recently agreed thetext of an african multilateral taxcooperation agreement, providing thelegal tools to pursue tax avoidanceand evasion across borders. 131The uK should use its g8 chair to givenew impetus to action on tax havensat international level, through a newconvention on Tax Transparency,providing a framework for allcountries to cooperate in tackling taxhaven secrecy.2.4 the uK’S commitmentto cLamp DoWn ontax DoDgingThe uK government is in akey position to promote broadinternational action on tax havensand financial secrecy. Indeed, thereis a particular onus on the uK todo so since three british crowndependencies and 14 overseasTerritories, notably the caymanIslands and Jersey, are among theworld’s leading tax havens.The uK government recognisesthat ‘tax avoidance in developingcountries deprives governments ofthe vital income needed to buildand maintain their public services’,and dfId supports projects indeveloping countries to improvetax collection and administration. 132david cameron has publicly criticisedthe way that companies ‘use thecomplexity of the tax and legalsystem to try and endlessly reducetheir tax payments’. 133 as recently asnovember 2012, in a joint statementwith the German finance minister atthe g20, george osborne called for‘concerted international cooperationto strengthen international taxstandards that at the minute maymean international companiescan pay less tax than they wouldotherwise owe’. 134 Treasury ministerdavid gauke has promised moreinternational cooperation againsttax havens. 135 In particular, thegovernment has championed themultilateral convention on mutualadministrative assistance in Taxmatters as a platform for suchcooperation. 136however, these positive words nowneed to be followed by effectiveaction to address the problem oftax havens and tax secrecy, andtheir impacts both at home and indeveloping countries. david cameronhas said that the g8’s approach toglobal injustice cannot be about‘rich countries doing things to poorcountries’. It must be about ‘usputting our own house in orderand helping developing countriesto prosper’. 137 a recent enquiry bythe all-party Internationaldevelopment committee calledon the government to give moreconsideration to the developmentimpact of uK tax policy. 13836