Voters in marginals seek clampdown on corporate tax avoidance

Most voters in marginal constituencies have told pollsters that politicians have not gone far enough in promising to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals.

Overall, 58 per cent of respondents called for more to be done on corporate tax avoidance, in a survey commissioned by development charities and campaigners. That compared with just over a quarter of respondents who said the measures planned by parties went far enough to tackle the problem.

Younger people appeared more relaxed about the issue than the middle-aged and elderly, with just over a third of those aged under 35 saying that the existing promises went far enough.

Disapproval of corporate tax avoidance was reported by adults of all voting intentions - with 90 per cent of Conservative voters, 94 per cent of Labour voters and 87 per cent of Ukip voters agreeing with the statement that "tax avoidance by large companies is morally wrong, even if it is legal".

But demand for extra action on avoidance varied with party preferences. More than three-quarters of those intending to vote for the Green party thought more needed to be done. Just over half of those intending to vote for the Conservatives took the same view.

The poll was commissioned by the Tax Dodging Bill Campaign, a coalition of 26 big UK and international development organisations including ActionAid, Oxfam, Christian Aid and the Equality Trust.

The campaign is calling for all parties to introduce a "tax dodging bill" to crackdown on avoidance in the UK and abroad if elected.

The poll was conducted by ComRes, which surveyed 1,000 adults in 40 of the most marginal constituencies between March 26 and April 13 2015.

Jenny Ricks, Head of Campaigns at ActionAid, said: "This poll shows that widespread anger about corporate tax avoidance, both in the UK and in poor countries, is showing no signs of going away.

"People still don't believe that the promises made by political parties on tackling tax dodging go far enough. Pressure is mounting on all parties to act. That's why the next government must introduce a tax dodging bill - it could bring in billions in the UK and poor countries, money badly needed to fight poverty."

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation