General Article Huge cost of tax evasion revealed as campaign to tackle tax havens launches

Topic Selected: Business
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New research published by the Tax Justice Network shows that tax evasion costs 145 countries, representing over 98% of world GDP, more than US$3.1 trillion annually.

In the UK for instance, a staggering £69.9 billion a year is lost to tax evasion in the ‘shadow economy’ – that is, 56% of the country’s total healthcare spend.

Tax havens are a major part of the tax evasion problem – and these new findings come as the Tax Justice Network launches Tackle Tax Havens, a new campaign aimed at the general public that highlights the critical role that these secretive states play in corrupting the global economy.

The issue of tax collection is rising fast up the political and social agenda, as countries across the world make deep cuts in public spending and increase taxes in ways that hurt the poor and the middle classes the most.

This new research demonstrates how important it is to tackle tax evasion and the tax havens that help wealthy individuals and organisations escape from contribu...

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