Month: Sep 2019

With the possibility of a change of government, it is important that the Campaign for Tax Justice is reinvigorated by PCS.

The Tax Justice Campaign is undoubtedly one of the most important campaigns over the last decade. In the early days of austerity, almost every political commentator and journalist slavishly regurgitated the Tory line – that austerity was an economic necessity rather than a political choice. PCS, thanks to the work of Left Unity, launched a campaign which successfully challenged this narrative, bringing the impact of tax fraud into public consciousness.

The Tax Justice Campaign was based on academic research commissioned by PCS which demonstrated that the UK tax gap (the difference between tax due and tax collected) amounted to £120 bn per annum, which was predominantly comprised of corporate tax avoidance and evasion. At this time the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, argued that the UK Budget Deficit (around £100 bn when the Tories came to power) necessitated cuts in public expenditure, bringing about the start of the government’s austerity programme.

The PCS argument was clear – if the government closed the tax gap, it could wipe out the budget deficit and in doing so make arguments for austerity redundant. The government’s refusal to do so clearly demonstrated that rather than being an economic necessity, austerity was simply an instrument via which working class people were forced to subsidise rampant corporate tax fraud.

In practice, this means that the Tory attacks on public services & social security, which have been so damaging to the British working class, were all carried out so that people like Philip Green could spend £150 million on a new yacht. For PCS members, the same thing applies – office closures, redundancies, pay restraint and attacks on terms & conditions are all being thrust upon PCS members purely to enable the government to continue lining their City friends’ pockets with billions of pounds of public money.

BLN believes the PCS Tax Justice Campaign is still as relevant as ever and in the context of the current Labour Party consultation being run by the NEC, it should form the basis of the key political demands.

 Namely, the BLN believes these demands are for the government to simplify tax law and in doing so close tax loopholes, particularly in relation to offshore activities. Similarly, the government must invest in HMRC to ensure that the department is equipped to close the tax gap, which would include ending the current office closure programme, instead focussing on the reintroduction of local compliance offices as these will allow HMRC officers to visit businesses in all parts of the country. This is the only way to ensure that business practices are compliant with tax law.

BLN welcomes the long-standing support the Tax Justice Campaign has received from Jeremy Corbyn & John McDonnell, but we also recognise the fact that throughout the UK, councils led by the Labour right-wing have been enthusiastically implementing Tory austerity measures for a decade – and that same position will undoubtedly be pursued at a national level, should the Blairites regain control of the party. Similarly, the anti-austerity sentiment expressed by the SNP, Liberals & Greens is undermined by all three parties’ willingness to impose the Tory austerity programme wherever they hold power.

If we’ve learned anything from the last decade, it is that PCS members and more broadly, the UK working class, cannot rely on the rhetoric of political parties to ensure that the economy is run to benefit anyone other than the capitalist class. PCS must build the anti-austerity movement amongst its membership, alongside campaigning for this at the TUC and within the wider working class, in order to ensure that any incoming government takes action to close the tax gap.

PCS members have a unique contribution to make to develop policy in this area. Our members operate the tax system and can contribute ideas for legislation, policy changes and a different operational approach. The PCS Revenue & Customs Group, alongside the NEC, must continue to lobby opposition politicians on these issues makes sure that Tax Justice is high on the agenda of an incoming government.  Ultimately, the UK ranks as one of the most unequal nations in Europe. PCS has to lead the fight to end austerity to ensure that any future government is forced to implement PCS policies, including public ownership of energy and utilities and a progressive tax system that redistributes wealth and income in favour of working people and their families.