Chris Jordan, Captain of Ludicrous Evangelisation 

If you've been keeping up with our HungerFREE campaign, you'll know all about about the scandal that sees over 1 billion people go to bed hungry every night. With global food prices reaching record highs, the UN are warning that there may be more trouble ahead for developing countries. 

But what's tax got to do with tax justice?  Watch this video from our friends at Christian Aid about hunger and tax in Guatamala to find out.

Sarah Palmer, Head of Cat-herding

Tax is a great way to pay for education, it’s a reliable and sustainable money that government’s can use year on year to pay for teachers and resources that ensure that children receive a quality education.   

That is why I am was pleased to read this article by Limbani Nsapato from the Africa Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA) making the links between tax justice and education.

Speaking about financing education in Malawi he details the challenges of meeting commitments to achieving global education goals without sufficient resources.  There is a gap of K6 billion (£25 million) between what is needed to fund education in the country and what is available in the budget.

“This huge financing gap puts Malawi in danger of missing the 2015 Education for All and MDG targets. This is worsened by the fact that in light of the global economic crisis of 2008-2009, donor money cannot always be relied upon...

One therefore feels there is no choice but to find solutions at home. Taxation may not be the only local solution to the country’s financial challenges; you can also rely on mining, agricultural productivity, tourism, and trade. But taxation is arguably the most predictable and sustainable solution.”

Tax justice is a real solution to achieving key development goals, the more we can make the links between the two the louder our voice, and the greater our impact.  I hope this post from Limbani is one of many more to come.

Sarah Palmer, Head of Cat-herding

I love it when tax dodging is explained in clear easy to understand diagrams instead of techy accountancy speak.  Check out this one on how Google has managed to cut it's tax bill by roughly $3billion over the last few years.

Chris Jordan, Captain of Ludicrous Evangelisation 

Chris Jordan, Captain of Ludicrous Evangelisation 

We’re regularly spouting off about how developing countries are losing more to tax dodging than they get in aid every year – but the same problems affect the UK too.

The Treasury estimates that the current tax gap is £42 billion – and many think this is a pretty conservative estimate.  Either way, it’s more than enough to plug a sizeable hole in the deficit.

The good people over at 38 Degrees have just launched a campaign to crack down on the tax cheats, designed to ramp up the pressure on the Chancellor to act.  Sign up now – but don’t forget to point out that an international solution would mean big benefits for ordinary people in both rich and poor countries.

Sarah Palmer, Head of Cat-herding

Tax is all over the news this week featuring heavily at the Lib Dem conference.  As we’ve been harping on about tax dodging for well over a year now, it’s great to see the issue being debated so vigorously in the press.  It really shows how far the issue has come over the past few years, moving from the domain of tax wonks and accountants, firmly into the mainstream.

It all kicked off after Danny Alexander's speech stating that “Tax avoidance and evasion are unacceptable in the best of times but in today's times it is morally indefensible”. 

There was a sudden scramble for dictionaries as confusion reigned over the definitions of evasion and avoidance and subsequently where the line should be drawn on morality. 

For those of you without the time to thumb through Principles of International Taxation here is a summary of the key definitions needed to navigate the moral maze of tax debates.

Tax evasion:  deliberate law breaking - think fake invoices, or making false tax returns.
Tax avoidance:  deliberately exploiting loopholes which go against the spirit of the law, but technically within the letter of the law.  Siphoning profits into tax havens can fall under this category.
Tax planning: Using official sanctioned schemes to minimise your tax bill – like ISAs or bike to work schemes.

We think both evasion and avoidance are morally dubious – and if you do to, then vote on it here. And  the next time someone tries to tell you that taking out an ISA is tax avoidance, please set them straight!

It will be interesting to hear the Conservative and Labour parties deal with tax dodging at their conferences over the next couple of weeks.  With the whole world still dealing with the fallout from the financial crisis, it’s clear that tax justice is a big solution that we need to get behind.