Who pays the price? Hunger: the hidden cost of tax injustice (May 2013)
The scandal of world hunger could soon be ended if the revenues that developing countries lose through tax dodging were available to them to invest in agricultural development. One in eight of the world’s population goes to bed hungry, with progress disappointing towards the global goal of halving world hunger by 2015. Read the full article here.
Who pays the price? full report (PDF, 1.6mb)
Who pays the price? Briefing paper (PDF, 0.2mb)
Swissploitation? The Swiss role in commodity trade (PDF, 0.9mb)
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Multinational corporations and the profit-sharing lure of tax havens (2013)In this new Occasional Paper, Petr Jansky, Economist, Charles University in Prague and Alex Prats, Principal Economic Justice Policy Advisor at Christian Aid, explore the links between multinational corporations (MNCs), tax avoidance and tax havens.
Focusing on 1,500 corporations operating in India, they find out that MNCs with tax haven links report less profits and pay less in taxes than MNCs with no such links.
Download Occasional Paper Number 9 (PDF, 0.2mb)
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No more shifty business (2013)
The current international tax system is broken and out of date. In this joint policy brief, 58 organisations and networks around the globe are asking the OECD and the G20 to cooperate with developing countries to change the rules that currently allow multinational corporations to avoid paying their fair share of tax.
This is the response of the civil society to the OECD’s report, 'Addressing base erosion and profit shifting'.
Download response paper (PDF 0.5mb)
Read the full press release
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Tackling hunger with tax justice (2013)
One in eight people on this planet are living with the pain of hunger, and yet our world provides enough food for everyone. Tax dodging is one of the reasons why hunger persists. This briefing explains how tax is a critical part of the solution to ending hunger for millions of people.
Download tax justice briefing (PDF, 0.4mb)
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The revised London Mining agreement: better, but still a major problem (2012 - partner briefing paper)
A new mining agreement between the Sierra Leone government and a UK-based company, London Mining, contains a number of provisions which undermine legislation supposed to ensure the country derives full benefit from its mineral wealth.
Download revised London mining agreement...................................................................................................
Accounting for change: My word is my bond (2011)
On 15 October 2011, the Occupy London Stock Exchange (LSX) movement established a protest outside St Paul’s Cathedral. The protestors have sought to articulate a frustration that resonates widely regarding the inequalities in UK society and globally, and the responsibility of financial institutions to serve society.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, Christian Aid has been calling greater transparency and responsibility in the financial system. This briefing paper outlines some proposals for discussion and ideas for how this church can engage in the debate.
Download briefing
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Accounting for Change: Tax and Sustainability (2011)
Over the past two years, Christian Aid has spoken to tax directors from many of the biggest companies in the world about their commitment to tax and development. Some are listening. Now we want to take the message to those who invest in the companies.
Tax and Sustainability, our latest briefing paper, explains why having a responsible tax strategy matters for the world’s poor and makes good business sense. It proposes some ideas for how investors and companies can get behind tax justice.
Download briefing
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Tax justice advocacy toolkit: a toolkit for civil society
The purpose of this toolkit is to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations to:
- understand and analyse the issues surrounding tax in a given country
- develop advocacy strategies for tax justice
- do tax research
- plan and undertake different advocacy activities (for example lobbying, campaigning and media work)
- learn from the experience of others already doing tax advocacy.
Tax toolkit (2.2mb PDF)
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Accounting for Change: Shifting Sands (2010)
For two years, Christian Aid has been campaigning for a country by country reporting standard which would shine a light on companies that may be dodging.
Shifting Sands, the first briefing in our Accounting for Change series, documents the progress of the campaign and outlines our response to some of the counter arguments we have encountered.
Download briefing
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Blowing the Whistle: Time’s Up for Financial Secrecy (2010)
This report, published during Christian Aid Week, reveals how the same tax-haven secrecy that allows football club owners to hide their business practices – and even their identities – is also facilitating massive tax dodging in developing countries.
And while such practices are threatening to ruin the beautiful game, for people in the world’s poorest countries they are a matter of life and death.
Download report
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Undermining the Poor: Mineral taxation reforms in Latin America (2009)
This report examines the tax reforms affecting the mineral sector in Latin America. It quantifies the costs of some of the excessively generous tax incentives which have been provided to mining companies in Peru, Guatemala and Honduras. It also tracks the efforts of civil society to reverse these regressive taxation trends and offers some recommendations for policy reform in this area.
Download report
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The Missing Millions: the cost of tax dodging to developing countries supported by the Scottish Government (2009)
Tax dodging cost the five countries that receive money from the Scottish government’s international development fund– Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Sudan - just under £43 million between 2005 and 2007. This report details the practices that have deprived these developing countries of much needed revenue and calls for measures to put an end to tax dodging by multinational companies.
Download report
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False profits: robbing the poor to keep the rich tax-free (2009)
Paying as little tax as possible, regardless of the social consequences, has for many become an acceptable way of doing business. This paper considers how financial systems allow practices such as 'trade mispricing' to continue and looks at some of the consequences of tax avoidance.
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Breaking the curse: How transparent taxation and fair taxes can turn Africa's mineral wealth into Development (2009)
This paper looks at mining taxation and transparency in seven African countries: Ghana, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and DRC. It explores the various strategies mining companies use to reduce their tax bill.
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Sierra Leone at the crossroads: Seizing the chance to benefit from mining (2009)
Mining companies routinely deprive African nations of revenue that could be used to combat poverty. This report details how Sierra Leone recently earnt only US$9-10m from mineral exports of US$179m.
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The morning after the night before (2009)
This report looks at how poor countries have suffered from the same combination of secrecy and lax regulation that triggered the current international crisis.
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Can tax challenge bad governance? (2008)
This paper is written by Olivia McDonald and Kadi Jumu and is part of our occasional paper series.
Read more
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Death and taxes (2008)
The lives of 1,000 young children a day are being lost to disease and poverty in poor countries because of illegal trade-related tax evasion, says our Christian Aid Week report.
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Haemorrhaging money: briefing on the problem of illicit capital flight (2007)
Briefing paper on how 'capital flight' is diverting scarce resources away from developing countries.
Download paper
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The shirts off their backs: how tax policies fleece the poor (2005)
This briefing paper shows how poor countries are losing hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue as rich individuals and multinational companies avoid paying their tax.
Download paper