A crackdown on tax-dodging multinationals that bleed tens of billions of pounds from the Third World was inching closer today.
Finance ministers at the G20 conference are being urged to open new international disclosure rules to the developing world.
Campaigners want the rich nations of the G20 to go further by giving poorer countries more say over the new standards.
It follows research showing that about two per cent of the national incomes of developing countries is lost to corporations that spirit their profits into tax havens — equivalent to almost three times as much money as the Third World gets in aid.
Oxfam said African governments alone lost some $38.4 billion a year, which is more than half of the amount they spend on health care.
Chris Jordan, tax justice campaign manager of charity Action Aid, said: “Flaws in the current tax rules allow companies to dodge billions in tax, depriving governments of vital cash for essential public services.
“For the developing countries the stakes couldn’t be higher. It’s vital that they have a seat at the table, so global tax rules aren’t stitched up by the major powers.”
There is widespread public anger at the behaviour of firms like Google, Apple and Amazon who stand accused of paying unreasonably small amounts of tax through legal loopholes.
The Paris-based OECD think tank is drawing up plans for better co-operation, plus new requirements for companies to report their affairs accurately.
