Fair Tax Declaration

We have committed to the Fair Tax Foundation’s Councils for Fair Tax Declaration. 

This commits us to promoting responsible tax conduct through:

• leading by example and demonstrating good practice in our tax conduct, right across our activities
• ensuring contractors implement IR35 robustly and pay a fair share of employment taxes
• not using offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty
• undertaking due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates
• demanding clarity on the ultimate beneficial ownership of suppliers and their consolidated profit & loss position
• promoting the Fair Tax Mark certification for any business in which we have a significant stake and where corporation tax is due
• supporting calls for urgent reform of EU and UK law to enable local authorities to better penalise poor tax conduct and reward good tax conduct through their procurement policies

The decision to approve the Fair Tax Declaration was made by members at a Full Council meeting at the beginning of 2022.

What is Fair Tax?

The Fair Tax Mark accreditation scheme was launched in February 2014 and seeks to encourage and recognise organisations that pay the right amount of corporation tax at the right time and in the right place.

Tax contributions are a key part of the wider social and economic contribution made by business, helping the communities in which they operate to deliver valuable public services and build the infrastructure that paves the way for growth.

The Fair Tax Foundation operates as a not-for-profit social enterprise and believes that companies paying tax responsibly should be celebrated, and any race to the bottom resisted.

Research has revealed that between 2014-19, a huge 17.5% of UK public procurement contracts – with a combined value of £37.5bn – were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven. Recent research has found that the UK loses an estimated £17bn in corporation tax revenues as a result of profit shifting alone.

What are we doing?

Since approving the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration, we have :

• Signed up to the ‘Councils for Fair Tax Declaration’ 
• Reinforced the need for contractors who work with the council to comply with the requirements of IR35 
• Confirmed the council’s policy to not use
  • offshore vehicles for the purchase of land or property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty; and
  • not for profit structures as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates
• Written to the top 100 suppliers of the council encouraging them to seek the Fair Tax mark accreditation.

We will also be supporting Fair Tax Week which runs from 11 to 19 June 2022 through social media etc. 

Further examples will be added here as this work progresses.

Which other councils and organisations are supporting Fair Tax?

A list of accredited organisations is available on the Fair Tax website, while you can also check which local authorities across the country has approved the declaration.

Find out more

Find out more information on the Fair Tax website.