LONDON: The government should use next week’s Budget to crack down on issues of tax avoidance raised by the release of the Paradise Papers, an ex-minister says.
Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who led an emergency debate on the leaked documents, said tax avoidance was “a national and international disgrace”.
She called for new laws to force big firms to report profits more openly.
Treasury Minister Mel Stride said the government had a “very strong track record” in tackling tax avoidance. The leak, dubbed the Paradise Papers, contained 13.4m documents, mostly from one leading offshore finance firm. The papers raised questions about how politicians, multinational companies, celebrities and other high-net-worth individuals use complex structures to protect their cash from higher taxes.
