up front spring /summer 20 13 waronwant.org TIME FOR TAX JUSTICE Campaign for aLiving Wage Stop Arming Israel WELCOME ThE bILLIOnS DODgED AnD OUR The recent CAMpAIgn TO scandals involving STOp ThE UK Amazon, gOvERnMEnT Google and Starbucks FUELLIng TAX have brought the issue of tax AvOIDAnCE avoidance to public attention. TAX In this issue of Up Front we highlight the sheer scale of the problem and the impact it has on vulnerable people the JUSTICE nOW world over. We also bring you up to speed with our Stop Arming Israel campaign, plus Tax plays a vital role in society. It redistributes wealth news of success in our seven- year campaign to secure a from corporations and rich individuals to fund vital public supermarket watchdog with services like healthcare and education, and it tackles the power to fine – an poverty and inequality. Or at least it should. amazing victory for the workers around the world who pick, pack and grow our In reality multinational companies are dodging billions of food, achieved all thanks to pounds of tax every year, acting as giant corporate parasites your support. on the countries they operate in, sucking profits out and leaving the rest of society paying the price.
The sheer scale of the problem is staggering. As much as £20 trillion is now held in John Hilary secrecy jurisdictions, better known as tax havens. These allow big companies and rich Executive Director individuals to hide billions away from the prying eyes of the tax collectors. If this money was subject to tax it could generate as much as £180 billion a year in extra revenue: a sum so vast that just 1% of it could pay for an extra 85,000 NHS nurses or 1,720,000 Indonesian primary school teachers. Imagine what a difference 100% of this money could make to people across the world. Instead it’s swelling corporate coffers and making the rich even richer.
Tackling tax dodging is not just about raising more money. Tax Justice Network War on Want Africa points out that tax revenues are necessary for any state to meet the basic 44-48 Shepherdess Walk needs of its citizens: “Tax revenues will be essential for establishing independent states London N1 7JP of free citizens, less reliant on foreign aid and the vagaries of foreign capital.” This is tel 020 7324 5040 email [email protected] impossible for countries to achieve when faced with the exploitation of their tax web waronwant.org system by multinational companies. Registered Charity No. 208724 But tax dodging is not just an issue for countries in the global South. Every year Follow us: the UK government loses out on £25 billion in revenue due to tax avoidance by large @waronwant companies and rich individuals, while simultaneously slashing spending on vital public facebook.com/waronwant services and welfare, increasing poverty and inequality.
Please help spread the word and Multinational companies don’t operate in a vacuum – it’s the tax rules of countries save money by sharing this copy like the UK that allow them to dodge tax on such a massive scale. The UK plays a of Up Front central role in the ‘offshore’ system; the UK’s own network of island jurisdictions such Front cover image: M. Holland 02 TREASURE TROvE The wealth held in tax havens is greater than the GDP of the US and the UK TAX hAvEnS US gDp UK gDp £20tn £9.5tn £1.5tn
IF TAX hAvEnS WERE AbOLIShED This wealth would be subject to tax, generating more money than the UK government spends each year on healthcare and education put together
pOTEnTIAL TAX REvEnUE nhS EDUCATIOn £180bn £109bn £56bn
as Jersey and the Cayman Islands rank amongst some of the you to join the campaign and spread the word to help force most prominent tax havens in the world. the government to act. Together we can stop multinationals behaving like corporate parasites on our world. Despite growing public anger over tax avoidance in the UK, the government has actually changed the UK’s tax laws to Take action and demand tax justice now! make it easier for companies to shift profits through tax Visit waronwant.org/tax havens. It’s a change set to lose the UK government a further £1 billion a year and developing countries £4 billion a year. This year, at a time when vulnerable people are bearing the Tax victory brunt of the cuts, the government is proposing yet more When War on Want launched the call for changes which will act as a huge tax giveaway to some of a tax on bank transactions called the Tobin Tax the UK’s largest companies. in 1998 we were a lone voice in the campaign for tax justice. Fifteen years on and now We’ve got to show the UK government that we mean known as the Robin Hood Tax campaign, business and that they must stop allowing multinational our persistence in the fight for this progressive companies to get away without paying their fair share. This tax has paid off. In January this year 11 EU year War on Want will be campaigning for strict new rules countries voted to introduce the tax on banks’ to put a halt to tax avoidance in the UK and calling for the transactions. Victory! abolition of the UK’s own network of tax havens. We need
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The fight for a living wage Declining wages, long hours and constant job and following us on Twitter and Facebook. It’s time to make insecurity are preventing workers being valued a stand against poverty pay. It’s time to stop companies as human beings, with the right to live in dignity. exploiting their workers. In fact, the workers producing our goods – from fruit, vegetables and tea to flowers, wine and clothes – are It’s time for a living wage. waronwant.org/livingwage struggling to get by on wages that don’t even cover their basic needs.
This is because the legal minimum wage is calculated according to market rates, rather than the amount that The deadly cost of denim people actually need to provide for themselves and their Distressed denim jeans are a fashion must-have. But these family .The cost of labour is reduced to maximise profit for jeans come at a high price: the health and even the lives companies and businesses, squeezing workers’ wages and of garment workers. perpetuating exploitation. Challenging this concept, workers, The process of sandblasting is fast and cheap and has trade unions and social movements are calling for the right become the key production method for jeans requiring to a living wage, calculated according to the needs of workers a pre-worn look. Together with labour campaigning and their families – such as food, shelter, clothing, education organisations and our partner in China, Students & Scholars and healthcare – and earned without being forced to Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM), we are working work overtime. on an explosive report which will expose the risks faced by Along with our allies around the world, War on Want has Chinese garment workers forced to use sandblasting. The campaigned for many years for wage increases and decent technique is banned in many countries after it was proven working conditions as part of the fight against global poverty. to cause fatal lung diseases, including silicosis. But while Our campaigns have already delivered tangible gains for brands claim to have banned sandblasting practices in their millions of low-paid workers. But at a time when powerful supply chains, our research reveals a different story. forces are bearing down on wages at the bottom end of the Sign up for emails to see the report when it’s labour market, there are still so many people struggling to make ends meet on poverty pay. So starting this summer, launched: waronwant.org/signup we’re stepping up the fight for a living wage.
Get ready to help us spread the word and build support for this campaign by signing up for War on Want’s email updates
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A P ISRAEL Last November the Israeli army launched a military We need to keep up this pressure on the government until it assault on Gaza using drones, Apache helicopters, commits to action – so if you’re yet to take action, please do. F-16 fighter jets and naval vessels. The attack lasted War on Want has a crucial role to play in speaking out against eight days with civilian areas bombarded from air Israel when others are afraid to do so. Israel’s gross violations and sea with horrific effect. This assault marked an of international law are only possible with continued financial, escalation in Israel’s policy of collective punishment military and diplomatic support from Western states including against the Palestinian people and, once again, the the UK government, so we must do everything we can to UK government failed to condemn Israel's actions. provide a strong alternative voice. Instead, it continues to trade arms with Israel – not only selling, but also importing the latest War on Want will continue to mobilise support to help build military technologies. the global movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law The British army has awarded Israeli company Elbit and and meets three basic demands: an end to the occupation, its partner company Thales UK a contract worth over the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and equal rights for US$1 billion to develop a new surveillance drone called Palestinian citizens of Israel. BDS was successful in helping to ‘Watchkeeper’. Until the Watchkeepers come into service, combat South African Apartheid, so we’re calling on all people the UK government is leasing Israeli drones in a ‘pay by who want justice for Palestinians to boycott Israeli goods. We the hour’ contract for use in Afghanistan. want investors to withdraw from companies that profit from the occupation and we’re calling on the UK government to Outraged by the latest attack on Gaza and the complicity introduce trade sanctions on Israel. Join our call and help of the UK government, thousands of War on Want supporters win justice for the Palestinian people. like you joined our Stop Arming Israel campaign calling on the government to introduce an immediate two-way arms Take action: support us in the call for a two-way embargo on Israel until it complies with international law. arms embargo on Israel waronwant.org/Palestine 05 0 6
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W e i n b e r g Supermarket watchdog victory We did it! War on Want’s seven-year campaign to stop the exploitation of workers in supermarket supply chains achieved a double victory when the government not only agreed to introduce a supermarket watchdog, but also bowed to public pressure by announcing that the watchdog will have the power to fine. Better still, many of our other campaign demands, such as allowing trade unions and campaigners to bring complaints to the watchdog, have also been secured. A supermarket watchdog with the power to fine is a vital step towards achieving justice for the workers around the world who pick, pack and grow our food. This huge success was only possible thanks to the dedicated campaigning of our supporters, with thousands of people across the country pushing their MPs for action to stop supermarkets bullying their suppliers. Give yourselves a big pat on the back. give in LUSh donate £20,000 Following their amazing commitment to help us promote the OneWorld Freedom for Palestine single, handmade cosmetics firm LUSH have nominated War on Want as one of 10 campaigning groups to each receive £20,000 – no strings celebration attached! Our independent voice is critical if we are to challenge the root causes of global poverty and oppression. Whether you’re celebrating an anniversary, birthday, We’ll use this donation to help strengthen our campaigns and retirement or wedding, if you want to add a touch build the movement for real, lasting change based on justice of global justice to your celebration, why not invite your for the world’s poor. Thank you, LUSH! family and friends to donate to War on Want? Patrick and Martin joined our fight against poverty by asking their loved ones to celebrate their civil ceremony by giving donations to War on Want. You can join the fight too! In a few simple steps you can create and personalise Fuelling hunger your own fundraising page and invite friends and family to make a donation. If you feel inspired and want to know more, please in Africa do get in touch at [email protected] or start fundraising at waronwant.org/sponsorship We have uncovered alarming evidence that the UK government has been using hundreds of millions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money to tighten corporate control over the food system in Africa – with potentially devastating effects on small-scale farmers and rural communities. Our report: The Hunger Games: How DFID support for agribusiness is fuelling poverty in Africa , reveals that not only is the UK aid budget being used to support some of the world’s largest multinational corporations, it is also being routed through one of Africa’s foremost tax havens, Mauritius. This allows companies to avoid paying taxes that could be used by national governments to support small-scale farmers and genuine agricultural development. This is an abuse of aid that needs to be confronted. Dubbed “one of the year’s most important reports on aid” by aid expert Jonathan Glennie, The Hunger Games is free to download: waronwant.org/hungergames 07 Registered Charity No. 208724 / Company Limited by Guarantee Reg. No. 629916 s
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