From: Robert Palmer – Tax Justice UK <mail@taxjustice.uk>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2025 at 11:40
Subject: My last newsletter
To: <peterchallen@gmail.com>

Dear Peter, This is my last newsletter to you. Next week – almost seven years to the day after starting at Tax Justice UK – I will be leaving, and passing on this newsletter to a new pair of hands. It’s been an absolute pleasure leading our campaign for tax reform. We’ve had major victories After our campaigning on the Panama Papers in 2017 and 2018 – when many of you signed up to this newsletter – the government started to crack down on dirty money flowing into the UK. Following pressure from us and our allies, the government signed into law the Anti-Money Laundering Act in 2018 and the Economic Crime Act in 2022. Both of these made it harder to move dirty money through the UK. We couldn’t have won these reforms without your help. Later in 2022, the government introduced a windfall tax on oil and gas giants, helped by pressure from our campaigning. In 2023 Conservative government raised corporation tax from 19 to 25%, bringing it inline with an internationally agreed global minimum. We’d lobbied successive governments on this. Wins last year Then at the Budget last year we saw 4 out of 10 of our tax reform proposals acted on: the government abolished non-dom status, raised capital gains tax, cut inheritance tax loopholes and doubled taxes on private jets. These achievements are part of a wider success – along with our allies we’ve helped to shift the discussion on tax in this country so that taxing wealth is discussed as a clear political possibility. We’ve come such a long way in the seven years I’ve been at Tax Justice. I’m so proud of what the team has achieved and that we’re now part of a wider group of organisations and individuals demanding a fairer tax system. I’m convinced that with your help we can go even further over the coming years. Thank you for all of your help. We’d be nothing without supporters like you. Jake Atkinson will be writing to you Next week our Campaigns Manager, Jake Atkinson, will be taking this email over. A little about him: Jake is a committed campaigner who’s led our work demanding Amazon pay more tax.He regularly meets MPs and policy makers and our partners across the tax movement; and soon he’ll be going on TV and radio as one of our spokespeople. You can follow him on Bluesky here. Jake will have a lot to update you on. I’m certainly looking forward to reading his emails. Evading HMRC One last thing. A story caught my eye yesterday that I wanted to share with you. It touches the core of what we fight for as a campaign group. Leading MPs warned on Wednesday that HMRC is only investigating “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to tax evasion at the top of the system. They warn that HMRC is not properly investigating tax evasion via things like fraudulent use of UK company registrations and business insolvencies. They said it was “too easy to register companies fraudulently”. The story demonstrates one of the biggest problems we have with the UK tax system, namely: where HMRC is focusing its attention. Focus on the richest The MPs said HMRC was not being “sufficiently curious” about pursuing tax evasion at the top of the system. Meanwhile 83,000 self-employed people on low incomes were fined by HMRC last year for not filing on time. These people were earning too little to pay any tax at all – below the £12,570 personal allowance. All the while customer service waiting times, for those trying to call HMRC for advice, rose to a new record last year. HMRC isn’t properly investigating tax evasion among the richest. They also are allowing big gaps to exist in their enforcement system, allowing tax abuse to proliferate at the highest level. At the same time they are unfairly penalising many at the bottom of the system. Close Loopholes, Simplify the System Meanwhile, the National Audit Office found that the costs of administering the tax system are spiraling, with complexity at the core of the issue. HMRC’s costs have risen by around 15% in the period from 2019/20 and 2024, though tax revenue has increased by roughly the same amount. What can be done? Closing down tax loopholes would be a good start. They are often a way for the super-rich and wealthy corporations to reduce the amount of tax they owe. Closing tax loopholes would help simplify the tax system, increase government revenue and reduce some of the costs of administration. And this could raise revenue too. Putting an end to just five of the loopholes we’ve investigated could raise more than £7bn a year. Removing ways for the wealthiest to reduce tax bills, alongside properly investigating tax evasion by the super-rich, would also help to rebuild HMRCs reputation as an effective and efficient tax authority. We can only have a fairer and more just tax system when our government and tax authority gets their priorities right. I hope you will continue supporting our work as we keep fighting for tax justice. Thank you and all the best, Robert Palmer, Executive Director, Tax Justice P.S. Our board member, Jean McLean is speaking at an online event organised by the Environmental Funders Network (EFN) called “Narrative & Wealth Inequality” discussing wealth inequality, and what we can do about it. Speakers include economist Gary Stevenson and Milly Shotter from Patriotic Millionaires. It’s free and taking place on Thursday 27th February 2025 at 1-2.30pm. Learn more and get tickets  HERE.