“Uncover phantom firms”, urges Archbishop

THE Archbishop of Wales is urging church-goers to support a campaign against tax dodgers.
Dr Barry Morgan is supporting Christian Aid’s campaign for greater tax transparency to help uncover “phantom firms”.
The charity wants the UK government to ensure public registers are created which reveal the true owners of phantom firms. It compares such companies to Russian dolls as their core ownership is disguised enabling them to evade tax.
Dr Morgan said, “No-one likes paying taxes but they are the bedrock of a fairer and more equal society, both here in Wales and in developing countries. Tax dodging, particularly through the set-up of phantom companies, drives poverty and injustice. I urge churches across Wales to give active support to Christian Aid’s campaign.”
Christian Aid’s Senior Economic Justice Adviser Joseph Stead, said: “Phantom companies enable nameless criminals to evade tax, launder money and pay bribes safe in the knowledge that even the police will find it very difficult to trace them. This causes harm worldwide, not least in poor countries, which lose billions every year to tax evasion and corruption.’
Churches’ efforts across Wales as part of the Enough Food For Everyone IF campaign helped to push the issue of tax dodging and hunger to the top of the G8 agenda in June, but despite the positive rhetoric from David Cameron and other world leaders at the G8 in Northern Ireland, corporate tax dodging remains a growing source of public anger.
Christian Aid is calling on people to email business secretary Vince Cable to ensure public registers are created which reveal who owns what, where, and for whose benefit at christianaid.org.uk/phantomfirms.