A group of activists have staged a picket outside Bristol's Vodafone store in protest at Corporate Tax evasion by the phone company, which recently struck a deal with HRMC to avoid paying £6bn, and amount which would almost cover the cuts to welfare itself.
30/10/2010
Action Against The Cuts
Info line – Call: 07856421898

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANTI-CUTS ACTIVISTS SHUTDOWN VODAFONE STORE IN DISGUST AT £6BN TAX EVASION

Activists have today formed a picket outside Vodafone’s Bristol Broadmead Store, blockading the doorway in disgust at the HMRC’s deal with Vodafone that have allowed them to walk away from paying a tax bill thought to be worth £6bn to the public purse1.

The action started at 1:30pm where activists gathered following rapid mobilization over night.

The activists have picketed the store, which vodafone themselves have closed, in protest while others handed out leaflets explaining the action.

This comes after George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review in which he announced that another £7bn will be cut from welfare, producing a total of £18bn of cuts from vital welfare services.

These cuts have been widely condemned by charity groups representing the most vulnerable in society, and the highly respected Institute of Fiscal Studies confirmed on Thursday last week that the coalition’s cuts will indeed hit the poorest in society the hardest.

It is estimated that the deficit to the public purse from tax evasion could be as high as £70bn each year 2.

To add salt to the wound, Osborne also announced last week that large corporations in addition will be expected to contribute 4% less in tax to public services across the next four years through a reduction in corporation tax.

Activists on today’s action also note that Andy Halford is both a financial advisor to Vodafone and a corporation tax advisor to the treasury. Dave Hartnett agreed a deal to let Vodafone off a £6bn tax bill, The agreement between HMRC and Vodafone came after negotiations-between revenue officersand John Connors, Vodafone’s head of tax. Until 2007, Mr Connors was a senior official at HMRC, where he worked closely with Mr Hartnett.

Richard Webb of Bristol anti-cuts group said, “The cuts are not fair, we’re not all in this together, and there are alternatives. The economic downturn was caused by the greed of the global banking system, yet it is the public sector and those at the bottom who pay the price."

Caroline Daley of the Anarchists against the cuts campaign said, “We will not pay for their crisis! The public need to unite and take to the streets to take concerted action to fight these cuts”

ENDS

……………………………………………………………………………… …

For further comment:

Call: 07856421898

Email: bristol@afed.org.uk

……………………………………………………………………………… …

NOTES TO EDITORS

1 The details of the Vodafone scandal have been released originally following an investigation by the satirical magazine Private Eye.

www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html...

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/o...

taxjustice.blogspot.com/2010/09/vodafon...

2 The acclaimed tax expert, Richard Murphy, Director of Tax Research LLP, calculates that £25bn a year is lost to the Exchequer from tax avoidance, plus some £70bn a year from tax evasion, plus a further £26bn a year in unpaid and late-paid tax according to HMRC. www.michaelmeacher.info/weblog/2010/08/...