It is one of the classic refrains of social media: “Who funds you?” a demand for openness and transparency, rightly levelled at campaigns whose aim is to influence government policy.

Tax Justice UK is a campaigning organisation and our aim is to make the case for the positive role that tax plays in our society. We seek to champion changes to make the tax system work better, while at the same time supporting a fair, sustainable and thriving economy.

We have three long term goals:

• To build a platform of influencers for reform of the UK tax system;
• Shape a public narrative on the need for a fairer and more effective tax system; and
• Persuade decision-makers that these reforms are viable policy options.
  
  

Our income

• In the 2017/18 financial year we were awarded the following grants:
• Andrew Wainwright Reform Trust - £7,996 as a set up grant for Oct - Dec 2017;
• Joffe Charitable Trust - £20,000 to support campaigns and advocacy work in 2018;
• Funding for Social Change Ltd - £20,000 to support campaigns and advocacy work 2018-2020; and
• Friends Provident Foundation - £91,576 to support campaigns and advocacy work in 2018-19.

We also received a small amount through online donations.

Tax Justice UK Executive Director, Robert Palmer, said:
​“In 2017, Tax Justice UK was incubated out of the Tax Justice Network, a global network of organisations committed to transparency on tax and financial affairs.

"Never has it been more incumbent on campaigns in the UK to be open about who funds them, that’s why I am happy to see our annual accounts published.”
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You can view our latest annual accounts here.

VAT, which hits the poorest hardest, is a growing proportion of UK government revenues, while corporation tax is shrinking as a percentage of the total tax take, according to figures released yesterday by the OECD.

Between 2010 and 2016 the proportion of tax the UK raises through VAT grew from 18.7% to 20.8% of total tax, an increase of 2.1%. By contrast the proportion raised by corporation tax decreased from 8.9% to 8.3% over the same period. Over the last eight years the government has slashed the corporate tax rate, and it’s due to fall further to 17% by 2020.

The figures come after a separate report by the OECD last week that ranked the UK 21st out of 33 countries for the amount of overall tax raised as a proportion of GDP.

Tax Justice UK Executive Director, Robert Palmer, said it was time the UK looked at rebalancing the UK’s tax take, away from regressive taxes like VAT, towards a greater focus on fairer taxes, such as those on wealth:

He said: “These figures, show that VAT is making up a growing proportion of the amount of tax raised in the UK, whilst the contribution made by corporation tax is decreasing.  

“The UK needs to be looking seriously at how it taxes in a fair way, including through smart taxes on wealth. We should be correcting the over-reliance on VAT if we want truly good public services funded through fair taxes.”

In its pre-budget report, The World We Want, Tax Justice UK set out a range of reforms to wealth taxation to secure greater investment in the NHS and other public services.

ENDS

The OECD revenue statistics report ‘Revenue Statistics 1965-2016’ is available here.

Contact: Paul Heden, Head of Communications, Tax Justice UK: 07413 729 505 or paul@taxjustice.uk;
Robert Palmer, Executive Director, Tax Justice UK: 07817 406618 or robert@taxjustice.uk

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