Tax Dodging

It’s a bit taxing but…

$160 billion is lost each year by developing countries through tax dodging by multinational corporations (MNCs).

What could this buy?

$160 billion would see the every one of the Millennium Development Goals completed several times over
$160 billion would save the lives of 350,000 children aged five or under every year
$160 billion would buy an education for all of the world’s children

Arriving at the Christian Aid offices to discuss what Islam says about the issue of tax dodging, I was wary to say the least. This is too dense and deep a topic for me to get into I thought! My suspicions were not too far off when in came Mufti Barkatulla followed shortly by Professor Tariq Ramadan, ‘yep’ a voice in my mind confirmed, this is far too deep for me.

But as the discussion started and the campaigns team and economist whipped up the above facts and figures what became evident was my own ignorance about tax dodging, and the simple things which I could do to get involved and make a difference.

As the discussion progressed I found myself intrigued by the relevance of this issue to me as a Muslim. Redistribution of wealth through tax is a vital part of our faith in the form of Zakat, the third pillar of faith, which is about cleansing our wealth and giving the poor their due right.

The MNCs are able to get away with tax dodging because of intricate accounting systems developed to make their revenues as difficult to understand as possible. The backbone of tax dodging can be traced back to unethical accounting and could be resolved with greater transparency.

In many parts of the world the word ‘tax’ goes hand in hand with the word ‘dodge.’ We are almost taught to see our taxes as a burden but when we look at what our taxes buy us in the UK, it is much easier to understand just how much tax dodging by MNCs deprives the developing world:

Our taxes buy us:

The ability to read and write
Healthcare whenever we need it
Clean and safe streets
Respect for our elders in the form of a pension
Security for our jobless in times of economic turmoil

Christian Aid’s campaign is supporting developing countries to take back that which MNCs have denied them through tax dodging - to buy back opportunities and lost lives.

By Amun Osman, MADE in Europe volunteer

Take action

Visit Christian Aid’s Tax Campaign webpage and see what you can do here