As we come to the end of our second week in Coronavirus lockdown, the impact of this crisis is becoming stark with thousands sick, businesses struggling and the government taking unprecedented measures to intervene in the economy.
Our work at Tax Justice UK is part of a broader movement to achieve a fairer society so that we can all thrive. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve teamed up with other groups to push the government to take more decisive action.
We joined over 100 economists calling for more support for the self-employed.
Along with Greenpeace, and dozens of others, we argued that any bailout of the airline industry should come with stringent conditions on tax, workers rights and the environment.
With 80 organisations we called for urgent action to stop millions of families falling into problematic debt, including from council tax. The government has already responded with a three-month payment freeze on credit cards and loans.
We’re also starting to think about how politicians deal with what comes after the crisis. More austerity is simply not an option.
Next week, we’re publishing a big opinion poll taken as the country went into lockdown. The public is in no mood for more cuts, and the vast majority of people support higher taxes. We’ll share the findings with you when they’re out.