Ask your MP: crack down on corporate tax dodgers!
Right now, the government is pushing for the poor, the sick and the elderly to pick up the budget bill, while corporate tax dodgers get off scott-free. Does that seem fair to you?
Corporate tax dodging is costing Australian taxpayers billions of dollars — money that could be funding our hospitals, universities and social safety net.
In a matter of days, 40,000 of us signed a petition asking Joe Hockey to ensure corporate tax dodgers pay their fair share of tax — and the pressure is working. The Treasurer has started talking tough on corporate tax evasion, comparing tax cheats to thieves and making commitments to crack down.
But while the talk is tough, the Government has slashed the ATO budget, hamstringing their ability to go after the worst corporate tax cheats. So the Government needs to feel the heat from another direction — straight from voters to their MPs and senators, to let them know that talk is cheap, and we want action.
Corporate tax dodging is costing Australian taxpayers billions of dollars — money that could be funding our hospitals, universities and social safety net.
In a matter of days, 40,000 of us signed a petition asking Joe Hockey to ensure corporate tax dodgers pay their fair share of tax — and the pressure is working. The Treasurer has started talking tough on corporate tax evasion, comparing tax cheats to thieves and making commitments to crack down.
But while the talk is tough, the Government has slashed the ATO budget, hamstringing their ability to go after the worst corporate tax cheats. So the Government needs to feel the heat from another direction — straight from voters to their MPs and senators, to let them know that talk is cheap, and we want action.
Every call is different, but here are a few points to make and questions to ask of your representative about what the Government's doing to crack down on corporate tax dodgers:
- Top companies paying billions less. According to a report by the Tax Justice Network and United Voice, the top 200 ASX companies are paying billions less than they should be, parking some of their profits in offshore tax havens.
- Unfair budget. While too many big businesses are getting away with tax dodging, your budget hurts everyday Australians, especially low-income families, the sick and our seniors.
- Why would you cut ATO resources? The Government's just slashed their budget by $189 million and 3000 staff have gone out the door. How is the corporate tax watchdog going to be able to run Mr Hockey's 'crack down' with fewer resources? And why is the Government delaying the implementation of international standards for the exchange of financial information, which would help the crack down?.
- Talk is cheap. It's great that the Government has committed to crack down on corporate tax dodgers. But we need to see concrete action on them, and not cuts that hurt everyday people.
- When will we see action? When can we expect to the Government to close the tax loopholes being exploited by big business? When can we expect to see stepped up action to go after illegal tax evasion? We need real action to strengthen fines, tackle tax havens and stop profit shifting to other countries.
GIVE YOUR MP A CALL
Can you call your MP and ask them to spend more time cracking down on big business tax dodgers, instead of squeezing budget savings from the poor, the sick and our seniors?
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