Taxing task that can’t be avoided

IT COMES as no surprise that the super-rich exposed in the so-called Paradise Papers choose to hide their wealth in offshore tax havens, many of which are shameful British Crown dependencies.

It is certainly embarrassing that Her Majesty the Queen has become a poster-girl for the practice of funnelling money away from the jurisdiction where it has been earned and placed in one where little or no tax is paid.

It is called tax avoidance and while it may be legal, Ma’am, it is far from moral. It’s an abuse.

Labour are right to call for a shake-up of the tax system, a proper land register so we know who owns Britain and a way to force international firms to pay tax on profits they earn here instead of spiriting them offshore.

Brexit presents us with choice on taxes. The one that presents itself to Brexiteers is that the UK itself becomes an offshore tax haven for corporations wishing to avoid paying taxes on the European mainland. What a tawdry vision of the future that is.

The other option, which would reinforce Theresa May’s desire to show that the UK will continue in a close bond with the rest of Europe, is to work at an international level to rein in the tax avoiders.

A remedy has to be found to restore faith in taxes and in politics.

It is not an easy task but a good start would be to close down the festering sore of Britain’s own offshore tax havens, from the West Indies to the Channel Islands.