TAX AVOIDANCE BY UK COMPANIES

Early day motion 1455, tabled 14 May 2007 by Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 36 members.

That this House deplores the involvement of major British companies such as Tesco, HMV, WH Smith, Asda and others in multi-million pound tax-dodging operations by selling goods online to UK customers from overseas locations which are not subject to United Kingdom or European Union Value Added Tax legislation; warns that such operations are detrimental to British jobs and to the British economy with the loss of tax revenue to pay for public services in the UK; further warns that these activities are also environmentally damaging because of the need to transport goods to such overseas locations and then post them to the UK; urges the Government to publicly make known to such famous UK companies that it deplores business practices which are against the UK's national interests and which damage smaller UK retailers; and calls on the Government to take measures to close the tax loophole being exploited by companies whose public image needs to be exposed by such hypocrisy.

Signatures by party: Labour 22, Liberal Democrat 13, Plaid Cymru 1.