Councillor Aves to move:
The Council notes:
That local residents are asking Devon County Council to sign up to the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration.
The Fair Tax Mark has developed the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration in collaboration with UK cities, counties and towns who believe they can, and should stand up for responsible tax conduct. Councils-for-Fair-Tax-Declaration.pdf (fairtaxmark.net)
As recipients of significant public funding councils should take the lead in the promotion of exemplary tax conduct. Polls have found that 63% of the public agree that the government and local councils should consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their taxes as well as value for money and quality of service, when undertaking procurement. That three-quarters of people would rather shop or work for a business that can prove it is paying its fair share of tax.
Fair Tax Mark said there was “a pressing need for action”, claiming that research it commissioned had discovered that 17.5% of UK public procurement contracts commissioned by local and national government over the period 2014-19 were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven, with a combined value of £37.5 bn.
Billions are missing from our public purse because some companies choose to avoid paying their corporation tax - the same companies who have since benefited from taxpayer support through this crisis or have asked for bailouts.
This means we have less money available for the vital public services we all rely on, and that the smaller, local businesses in our county can’t compete because it’s not a level playing field.
That other Councils around the UK have already signed up to the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration including Peterborough City, Oxford City, Oldham, Cannock Chase, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The Council believes:
Councillors across the UK work hard to serve their local communities and help direct the delivery of essential public services. The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed major weaknesses in our economy and deep-seated inequalities in our society. To Build Back Better we must tackle tax avoidance and Councils can pioneer the promotion of responsible tax conduct through:
· Leading by example on their own tax conduct
· Demanding greater transparency from suppliers
Having gone through a decade of austerity and reduced council spending caused by government reductions in grants, where funds have not kept up with demands of inflation and extra demands of new legal statutory duties, we’re now living through an era of unprecedented public spending due to the pandemic.
As a council, we have seen first-hand the challenge that a funding squeeze created for crucial frontline services. Local government has a proud history of standing up for responsible public sector conduct, ranging from paying the real Living Wage to promoting Fairtrade.
The Council resolves to:
1. Approve the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration Councils-for-Fair-Tax-Declaration.pdf (fairtaxmark.net)
2. Lead by example and demonstrate good practice in our tax conduct right across our activities
3. Require greater transparency from suppliers
4. Consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their tax as well as value for money and quality of service provided, when undertaking procurement
5. Promote Fair Tax Mark certification for any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporation tax is due
6. Support Fair Tax Week events in Devon and celebrate the tax contribution made by responsible businesses who say what they pay with pride
7. Demonstrate good practice including:
· ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay a fair share of employment taxes;
· not use of offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty,
· ensuring that there is clarity on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position,
· undertaking due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates; and
· supporting calls for urgent reform of EU and UK law to enable councils to revise their procurement policies and better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct.
Decision:
In accordance with Standing Order 6(6) the Notice of Motion was referred, without discussion, to the Cabinet for consideration.
Minutes:
Councillor Aves MOVED and Councillor Hannaford SECONDED
The Council notes:
That local residents are asking Devon County Council to sign up to the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration.
The Fair Tax Mark has developed the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration in collaboration with UK cities, counties and towns who believe they can, and should stand up for responsible tax conduct.Councils-for-Fair-Tax-Declaration.pdf (fairtaxmark.net)
As recipients of significant public funding councils should take the lead in the promotion of exemplary tax conduct. Polls have found that 63% of the public agree that the government and local councils should consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their taxes as well as value for money and quality of service, when undertaking procurement. That three-quarters of people would rather shop or work for a business that can prove it is paying its fair share of tax.
Fair Tax Mark said there was “a pressing need for action”, claiming that research it commissioned had discovered that 17.5% of UK public procurement contracts commissioned by local and national government over the period 2014-19 were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven, with a combined value of £37.5 bn.
Billions are missing from our public purse because some companies choose to avoid paying their corporation tax - the same companies who have since benefited from taxpayer support through this crisis or have asked for bailouts.
This means we have less money available for the vital public services we all rely on, and that the smaller, local businesses in our county can’t compete because it’s not a level playing field.
That other Councils around the UK have already signed up to the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration including Peterborough City, Oxford City, Oldham, Cannock Chase, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The Council believes:
Councillors across the UK work hard to serve their local communities and help direct the delivery of essential public services. The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed major weaknesses in our economy and deep-seated inequalities in our society. To Build Back Better we must tackle tax avoidance and Councils can pioneer the promotion of responsible tax conduct through:
o Leading by example on their own tax conduct
o Demanding greater transparency from suppliers
Having gone through a decade of austerity and reduced council spending caused by government reductions in grants, where funds have not kept up with demands of inflation and extra demands of new legal statutory duties, we’re now living through an era of unprecedented public spending due to the pandemic.
As a council, we have seen first-hand the challenge that a funding squeeze created for crucial frontline services. Local government has a proud history of standing up for responsible public sector conduct, ranging from paying the real Living Wage to promoting Fairtrade.
The Council resolves to:
1. Approve the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration Councils-for-Fair-Tax-Declaration.pdf (fairtaxmark.net)
2. Lead by example and demonstrate good practice in our tax conduct right across our activities
3. Require greater transparency from suppliers
4. Consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their tax as well as value for money and quality of service provided, when undertaking procurement
5. Promote Fair Tax Mark certification for any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporation tax is due
6. Support Fair Tax Week events in Devon and celebrate the tax contribution made by responsible businesses who say what they pay with pride
7. Demonstrate good practice including:
o ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay a fair share of employment taxes;
o not use of offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty,
o ensuring that there is clarity on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position,
o undertaking due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates; and
o supporting calls for urgent reform of EU and UK law to enable Councils to revise their procurement policies and better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct.
In accordance with Standing Order 6(6) the Notice of Motion was referred, without discussion, to the Cabinet for consideration.