Budget Day: Con-Dom Cut’s Cut’s

NOVANEWS
 

Dear All,
23rd March is Budget day. That means over the next month George Osborne will making decisions about cuts and taxes. It also means that it’s a key time for us to turn up the heat on our Chancellor. Together let’s pile the pressure on George Osborne to tackle tax dodging.
We’ve already raised £20,000 to publish another round of Artful Dodger ads. So where should we put them next to put the most pressure on George Osborne?

  1. In local election hotspots so that when candidates are knocking on doors they’re getting quizzed about tax dodging?
  2. In cabinet member constituencies so that George Osborne’s closest colleagues are flooded with questions from their local voters over the governments poor record on tax dodging?
  3. In national newspapers so that while George Osborne is reading the morning papers, he sees himself as the Artful Dodger and knows that we want him to tackle tax dodging?

Click here to vote where you think the ads should be:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/artful-dodger-tax-ads-where-next

George Osborne says the deficit means that we have no choice over cuts. But that’s only half the story. Tax dodging costs us up to £120bn a year – more than three times what we spend on schools. [1] Companies like Barclays only pay a tiny 1% in tax while libraries, SureStart centres and Disability Living Allowance are being cut. [2] Does George Osborne really think “we’re all in this together”?
As Chancellor, George Osborne should be doing something to close these dodgy tax loopholes. But instead, he’s doing the opposite.  He’s scrapped plans that would have made the banks pay more tax. [3] He’s relaxing rules to let UK businesses move money into foreign tax havens to dodge tax. [4] And he’s even going to benefit from a £1.6m tax dodge himself!
Click here to vote where the ads should go next:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/artful-dodger-tax-ads-where-next

We know ads like these help push the issue up the agenda. Last time our Artful Dodger ads caused a real stir, hit the headlines and put ministers under pressure. A government Minister was put on the spot during a live breakfast TV interview. The presenter asked him why he was “fiddling about with VAT when tax dodging costs us £120bn” – all thanks to our Artful Dodger ads. [5]
38 Degrees’ campaigns work because we plan them together. And by planning this campaign together, we can put even more pressure on the government. So, as the budget draws closer, help decide where we put our Artful Dodger ads next for the most impact!
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/artful-dodger-tax-ads-where-next

Thanks for being involved,
David, Hannah, Johnny, Charlotte and the 38 Degrees team
NOTES:
[1] Tax Gap: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/sep/22/tax-gap-information-beautiful ; Education Budget:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/SpendingReview/DG_191758
[2] Guardian: “Barclays bank forced to admit it paid just £113m in corporation tax in 2009” http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/18/barclays-bank-113m-corporation-tax ; Daily Mail: “Barclays branches hit by protests over ‘1% taxbill’: Campaigngers target bank that made £1bn profit” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358979/Barclays-tax-protests-Campaigners-target-bank-1bn-profit.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
[3] Guardian: “George Osborne shelves bank tax plan” http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/feb/20/george-osborne-bank-tax-plan
[4] Guardian: “To us, it’s an obscure shift of tax law. To the City, it’s the heist of the century” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/tax-city-heist-of-century
[5] Blog: “Artful Dodger ads are causing a stir” http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2011/01/06/artful-dodger-ads-are-causing-a-stir/

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