GOVERNMENT URGED TO LIFT ‘VEIL OF SECRECY’
Corbyn calling for an apology from the Queen as anger mounts in wake of 13.4m leaked financial documents
THE UK Government has been urged to take steps to lift the veil of secrecy over the affairs of its tax havens after the offshore financial affairs of hundreds of politicians and celebrities were revealed in the so-called ‘Paradise papers’.
The disclosure of 13.4 million documents which reportedly tie major companies and political figures to secretive overseas arrangements have led to calls for Britain’s overseas territories to have the same levels of transparency as the rest of the UK.
It includes claims that the Queen has £10 million of her personal fortune invested in an offshore tax haven, and that Donald Trump’s commerce secretary had interests in a company doing business with a Russian firm controlled by members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
U2 frontman Bono and former Tory treasurer Lord Ashcroft were also said to have been named in the papers. There is no suggestion that those involved acted illegally, but the revelations prompted Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to call for a public inquiry into aggressive tax avoidance to urgently restore public confidence in the tax system.
Mr Corbyn yesterday suggested the Queen should apologise if her private estate invested £10 million of her personal fortune offshore to avoid paying tax in Britain. But Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to commit to a formal probe or to introducing a public register of who owns offshore companies and trusts in British tax havens, saying only that people should “pay the tax that is due”.
Asked whether she would insist on an inquiry and public registers, the Prime Minister told the CBI: “We have seen more revenues coming to HMRC over the last few years – since 2010 £160 billion extra that they have been able to raise.
“But we do work, there’s already work that’s been done to ensure that we see greater transparency in our dependencies and British overseas territories and we continue to work with them. HMRC is already able to see more information about the ownership of shell companies, for example, so that they can ensure that people are paying their tax. We want people to pay the tax that is due.”
Yesterday charity Christian Aid said the revelations were “yet further evidence of the extent and nature of the global offshore system”.
Toby Quantrill, head of economic development at Christian Aid, said: “Governments, especially the UK government, have been too slow to act – we saw good words, but insufficient action. Most stark is the failure to tackle the secrecy in our own back yard.
“Our Overseas Territories lie at the centre of the offshore system. We need to see decisive action on transparency, not just more words. Theresa May as Prime Minister and Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary responsible for the UK’s Overseas Territories need to insist on the same levels of transparency in the UK’s tax havens as the rest of the UK.
“And we also need to address the issue of trusts very quickly. Anything less than this will be yet another failure to act decisively on this issue from the government.”
The Duchy of Lancaster, the private estate of the Queen, was found to have millions of pounds invested in offshore arrangements.
About £10 million from the Queen’s private fund was paid into funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda between 2004 and 2005, according to reports.
A small portion of the Queen’s investments – £3,208 – was found to have bought a holding in lender BrightHouse, the BBC and The
Guardian reported. The rent-to-buy firm has previously been accused of exploiting customers with high interest rates, but maintains it does responsible business.
The Queen voluntarily pays tax on any income she receives from the Duchy.
A spokesman for the estate said: “We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds. All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate.”
The Government responded to the disclosure by defending its record on combating tax avoidance and evasion.