Multi National Companies warn Cameron not to investigate their "tax affairs"

Thumbs down from FTSE100 businesses to David Cameron's call for more tax disclosure


The leaders of Britain’s biggest multi-national companies have warned David Cameron to abandon plans which will force them to disclose details of their businesses' tax affairs, warning that it threatens to undermine the economic recovery, The Daily Telegraph discloses today.








David Cameron said that firms have a moral duty to pay tax - comments which angered global business leaders meeting in Davos Photo: EPA






By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent

10:00PM GMT 24 Jan 2013


365 Comments




The Prime Minister on Thursday launched an outspoken attack on corporate tax avoidance telling firms that they needed to "wake up and smell the coffee" in reference to the recent furore over the tax affairs of the Starbucks coffee chain.


He said that firms have a moral duty to pay tax - in comments which angered global business leaders meeting in Davos, Switzerland.


Mr Cameron is to spearhead an international tax "transparency" drive this year which is expected to lead to firms being forced to publish details of where and how much tax they pay.

The Liberal Democrats have suggested that there should be a minimum level of corporate tax paid by those making money in Britain. Some businesses fear this will spark consumer boycotts and lead to a hostile anti-enterprise environment developing in this country.



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A Conservative MP wrote to the chief executives of each of Britain's 100 biggest companies in November and The Daily Telegraph today publishes the responses of more than 50 FTSE companies. Read the letters in full below.

The letters show that 32 of the 52 members of the FTSE-100 who have responded warn against publishing more details of their tax affairs.

There is growing concern that the Government’s attacks on the tax affairs of companies will undermine the economic recovery ahead of the release of key figures today which will show whether Britain faces a so-called "triple-dip" recession.

Two of Britain's major supermarkets - which are losing business to offshore-based internet firms – had some controversial suggestions.

Sainsbury's said that the information should be disclosed to allow consumers to boycott firms not paying tax in this country, while Morrisons urged Chancellor George Osborne to force firms to disclose annual corporation tax payments.

The letters disclose how:

• Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, warned against imposing more red tape on companies: “Any money spent on reporting is money that could be spent on investment and it’s investment that’s the top priority at present.”

• Ian Gorham, chief executive of stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown said the blame lay with officials. He said: “There are some very highly paid civil servants who are supposed to be collecting taxes. If they cannot collect the taxes that should be due from corporates that are dodging their obligations they should try harder or be given the tools to do so.”

• Justin King, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, urged people to boycott companies that were not paying their fair share of tax. He said: “Consumers can elect which companies they shop with and, if they don’t believe a company is fairly contributing to society, can vote with their wallet. This is the quickest and most powerful way in which to encourage a business to change their practices.”

• Dalton Philips, chief executive of Morrisons, said a “first step” would be for Mr Osborne to force all firms to disclose their annual corporation tax payments to “ensure that a level playing field exists”. He added: “We believe that this will encourage those companies that are concerned about their wider public to ensure they pay their fair share.”

• Rupert Soames, chief executive of Aggreko and brother of Tory MP Nicholas Soames, said his company was “on the side of the angels” because it paid 28.5 per cent tax in 2011, and that any attempt to force greater disclosure was a “lousy idea”.

Read the original letters in full:

HALLULAJEH,PRAISE THE LORD IF THIS IDEA GETS OFF THE GROUND.
BUY YOUR STUFF AT JOHN LEWIS AND DEBENHAM TODAY BECAUSE THEY PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES,I SAY
IT SEEMS SOME BUSINESSES EXPECT GOVERNMENT TO TRAIN THE RIGHT SORT OF STAFF WHILE NOT PAYING THEIR FAIR AMOUNT OF TAXES TO PAY FOR THE TRAINING,A SOMETHING FOR NOTHING CULTURE AMONG BUSINESSES HAS DEVELOPED

Badboy wrote:HALLULAJEH,PRAISE THE LORD IF THIS IDEA GETS OFF THE GROUND.
BUY YOUR STUFF AT JOHN LEWIS AND DEBENHAM TODAY BECAUSE THEY PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES,I SAY
IT SEEMS SOME BUSINESSES EXPECT GOVERNMENT TO TRAIN THE RIGHT SORT OF STAFF WHILE NOT PAYING THEIR FAIR AMOUNT OF TAXES TO PAY FOR THE TRAINING,A SOMETHING FOR NOTHING CULTURE AMONG BUSINESSES HAS DEVELOPED

Hi Badboy, I think Cameron is more interested in Starbucks, Amazon and other American Companies that trade in the U.K.