The government has talked a lot about tools to curb corporate tax avoidance. A key power, which it has available to it, is
to require multinational corporations to publish their accounts on a country-by-country basis. This information is already collected by companies but is currently only available to HMRC. Making this information public would help expose the extent to which companies can slash their tax bills.Building on two academic studies, Tax Justice UK and our sister organisation, Tax Justice Network, estimate that this move could bring in £2.5 billion in tax a year by deterring corporate tax avoidance. In the run up to the budget statement, we’re calling on Chancellor Philip Hammond to make use of the legal power.