Company bosses who use tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share will not be welcomed by Midlothian Council after it agreed to a crackdown.
Elected members this week agreed to sign the local authority up the a Councils for Fair Tax Declaration. And they said contractors or suppliers used by them would have to be transparent about their practices.
A motion by Councillor Bryan Pottinger, supported by Councillor Russell Imrie, said public expectation on organisations to pay the right amount of tax in the right place at the right time has never been stronger.
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It said: “Almost two-thirds of the Scottish public agree that the Government and local councils should consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their tax as well as value for money and quality of service provided, when undertaking procurement.
“Around 15% of public contracts in Scotland have been won by companies with links to tax havens.
“As recipients of significant public funding, local authorities should take the lead in the promotion of exemplary tax conduct by ensuring contractors are paying their proper share of tax, or refusing to go along with offshore tax dodging when buying land and property.”
The motion also called for more to be done to challenge current legislation which “restricts councils’ ability to either penalise poor tax conduct or reward good tax conduct, when buying goods and services.”
Councillor Pottinger told the virtual council meeting: "there are so many loopholes in tax, so much tax avoidance and tax evasion.
"People talk about loopholes saying they didn’t do anything illegal, maybe but it is morally wrong not to pay your fair share of tax.
“We cannot have people coming to this council, business individuals, without us knowing that they are bona fide. That we do have transparency in their tax
“We as a council have to be exemplary and an example to others.”
The motion was unanimously supported.
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