Countries are losing over $427 billion in tax each year owing to international corporate tax abuse and private tax evasion. India’s annual tax loss aggregates to $10.3 billion.

These are the findings of the first study led by The Tax Justice Network (TJN), which is an independent research based international network, that was published in alliance with other organisations.

‘The State of Tax Justice – 2020’, which is the inaugural edition of the report, explains that of the $427 billion in tax globally lost by countries each year to tax havens, $245 billion (or 57.4%) is directly lost owing to corporate tax abuse by multinational corporations (MNCs) and $182 billion (or 42.6%) owing to private tax evasion.

The report analyses data that was self-reported by MNCs to tax authorities, owing to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project spearheaded by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (Oecd).

MNCs paid billions less in tax dues by shifting $1.38 trillion worth of profit out of the countries where they were generated and into tax havens, where corporate tax rates are extremely low or non-existent. Private tax evaders paid less tax than they should have by storing a total of over $10 trillion in financial assets offshore, adds the report.

Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, said: “A global tax system that loses over $427 billion a year is not a broken system, it’s a system programmed to fail …” “The pandemic has exposed the grave cost of turning tax policy into a tool for indulging tax abusers instead of for protecting people’s wellbeing. Now more than ever we must reprogramme our global tax system to prioritise people’s health and livelihoods over the desires of those bent on not paying tax. We are calling on governments to introduce an excess profit tax on large MNCs that have been short-changing countries for years, targeting those whose profits have soared during the pandemic while local businesses have been forced into lockdown. For the digital tech giants who claim to have our best interests at heart while having abused their way out of billions in tax, this can be their redemption tax. A wealth tax alongside this would ensure that those with the broadest shoulders contribute as they should at this critical time,” added Cobham.

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