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UNI is calling for a full investigation by the relevant tax authorities, governments and legislators, demanding decisive action to close the loopholes which are being exploited by the unscrupulous. The 1 per cent has been allowed to dictate the terms they operate under at the expense of the rest of society.

The direct effect tax evasion has on the rise in global inequality cannot be underestimated – when corporations and wealthy persons cynically and unscrupulously evade taxes, public services, people, and societies suffer.
 
“The insidious system of tax evasion detailed by the Paradise Papers, has proved yet again that the global economy is fixed in the favour of a few powerful corporations and people. This is not Paradise Lost, but paradise stolen by the super-rich and their cronies. Working people are nearer to Dante’s Inferno than any worker’s paradise,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “Those found guilty should feel deeply ashamed – they are denying countries of hugely necessary funds for public services such as healthcare, roads, welfare provision and education.”
 
“In the aftermath of last year’s Panama Papers, several nations changed their laws, but this proves that this deceptive web of corruption and tax dodging will not go away without serious and rigorous change. Politicians have failed to take this issue seriously enough and it is working people who have paid the price.”
 
The Paradise Papers shows that the world’s biggest businesses, heads of state, celebrities and business people have sheltered their vast fortunes in secret tax havens in order to avoid paying their fair. The details come from a leak of 13.4 million files and demonstrates that far from being just a few individuals seeking to undermine the system, global tax evasion has become the norm for companies and wealthy figures.