Traders want to make town an OFFSHORE TAX HAVEN to exploit same loopholes used by big business
Where the likes of Google and Starbucks avoid paying huge amounts of tax in the UK by being registered in tax havens, this town is using the same accountancy loophole
A whole town of independent traders in Wales are turning the tables on tax loopholes used by the world’s largest companies.
Where the likes of Google and Starbucks avoid paying huge amounts of tax in the UK by being registered in tax havens, the town of Crickhowell is using the same accountancy loophole and moving itself offshore too.
The DIY tax plan, which is being documented by a BBC crew, has been submitted to HMRC, reports Wales Online .
If successful, it could spread nationwide, encouraging every other UK towns to go offshore and enjoy the tax-free benefits that brings.
Presented by Heydon Prowse, co-presenter of BBC Three’s The Revolution Will Be Televised, The Town That Went Offshore on BBC Two sees the Crickhowell group use the techniques to put pressure on HMRC and the government to close tax loopholes and stamp out tax avoidance.
A coffee shop owner, called Steve, tells the programme: “I have always paid every penny of tax I owe, and I don’t object to that.
“What I object to is paying my full tax when my big name competitors are doing the damnedest to dodge theirs.”
Jo Carthew, who runs Crickhowell’s Black Mountain Smokery, in the town, told the Independent: “We were shocked to discover that the revenue generated by hard-working employees in these British high street chains isn’t declared.
“We do want to pay our taxes because we all use local schools and hospitals but we want a change of law so everyone pays their fair share.”
She said the traders had a “very good meeting” and added: “It’s a threat to the Government because if they don’t act this could be rolled out to every town. Everything we have proposed is legal.”
Gian Quaglieni, commissioning executive for BBC Current Affairs, said: “Heydon brings his usual energetic, satirical edge to this revealing experiment that attempts to make sense of the global tax affairs of some corporations.
“Through the eyes of Crickhowell residents, it looks at whether the score can be evened up for their local businesses.”
The documentary will be screened in 2016 as part of BBC Two’s Britain’s Black Economy season.
