Tax Justice and the General Election

Much has been said about tax throughout the general election campaign so far, with most parties erring on the side of caution, so they don’t make big business nervous or alienate swathes of the population with unpopular tax rises. However some manifestos have acknowledged that in order to fund public services adequately, those who earn/make more, should pay more.

PCS launched a Tax Justice Campaign in 2008, as the leading trade union within Revenue and Customs. Although established many years ago, the campaign remains relevant, particularly during this election period. If you identify and tackle the tax gap you will bring in more than enough money to allow public services to be properly funded, with no need for cuts. The tax gap is defined as the difference between the amount of tax that should be paid and the amount of tax that’s avoided (through immoral but legal schemes), evaded (using illegal schemes deliberately designed to dodge paying the proper rate of tax), and taxes that are due but simply not being collected, including because of a lack of HMRC resources.

Our latest briefing document paves the way for continued campaigning on this issue with a future government, putting PCS members in HMRC at its core.

For more on the general election please visit our dedicated webpage with links to other valuable information.