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'Corporate world should follow Jimmy Carr's example on tax avoidance' 

Corporate world should follow

The corporate world should echo Jimmy Carr's tax pledge, according to international development charity Christian Aid

 
Mr Carr has found himself in the middle of a storm after it emerged he was a beneficiary of the K2 scheme, which protects money from tax in Jersey.

In a Twitter post early today he said he now realised he had 'made a terrible error of judgement'.

His admission followed an attack on aggressive tax avoidance schemes by Prime Minister David Cameron who said they were 'morally wrong'.

In a statement Christian Aid said it 'welcomes comedian Jimmy Carr's apology for using an aggressive tax avoidance scheme and his pledge to in future conduct his financial affairs 'much more responsibly'.

And Joseph Stead, the charity's senior economic justice adviser, said corporations using tax haven secrecy to minimise their tax should recognise that public feeling is 'increasingly turning against such strategies'.

'Jimmy Carr's apology is welcome, as is his undertaking to avoid such schemes in future. But he is just one man,' said Mr Stead. 

'Christian Aid hopes this will encourage others, including corporations, to look more closely at their tax affairs. We have highlighted for some time the need for much greater responsibility. 

'We estimate that multinationals trading in the developing world deprive developing countries of some US$160bn in lost tax revenues every year by using tax havens to minimise their liability.

'This is done by manipulating internal corporate trading in a way that poorer countries have neither the expertise nor resources to counter. As a result, they lose out massively on funds that could go towards schools, hospitals and improved food security.

'Companies using such strategies must understand that there is a growing recognition that while aggressive tax avoidance schemes may be perfectly legal, they are morally reprehensible.

'The Government has a responsibility to close the loopholes that allows this kind of activity to go unchecked, particularly when it allows corporations in rich countries to have such a damaging impact on peoples' lives in poorer countries. The need is urgent and must be quickly met.'
 

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