Targeting the Tax Dodgers

Voting has started to find the UK's biggest tax shirker.

People can decide which corporation or individual has made the biggest contribution to the cause of robbing the poor to pay the rich.

There is a shortlist of 10 on the False Economy website.

Read the details behind the logos of the finalists – like Boots and Vodafone – and vote for the top shirker. There's also good reason to consider Barclays, which is being targeted by Right to Work.

The poll is organised by False Economy, PCS, War on Want and the TUC.

It highlights the fact that the public sector is being slashed while billions of pounds of tax is avoided, evaded, or uncollected.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said:

“It is a national scandal that tens of billions of pounds are being sucked out of our economy every year by some very wealthy people, particularly at a time when we are told cuts are unavoidable.

“It is even more of a scandal that the government not only knows this is happening, but is pressing ahead with even more cuts to HMRC, the very department that should be taking action to ensure the tax dodgers are stopped in their tracks.”

Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary said:

“While ordinary people have no choice but to pay higher VAT, big corporations and the super-rich find it all too easy to get out of paying a fair tax contribution - we are certainly not all in this together.”

War on Want executive director John Hilary said:

“Every day brings a new revelation of yet another company failing to pay its tax dues. Now we learn that Barclays has more than 300 subsidiaries in tax havens, just as City bankers line up for their new year bonuses.

“The government must crack down on all tax dodgers as an urgent measure to rebalance public finances and stop the cuts.”