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Tax Avoidance and Evasion

If policies are to be taken forward, they must be based on evidence. I am slightly concerned that in the four years that I served on the Select Committee on International Development, very little work was done on that issue. It may well be that Christian Aid is one of the first organisations to have done some work. There is a danger that we create an impression that developing countries would have access to more money than they do currently if only they started taxing more efficiently and more effectively. Ironically, when one visits pretty much any country in Africa, the major concern relates to jobs. Most countries are worried about jobs and employment. Interestingly, most developing countries will offer substantial "tax holidays" to new inward investors. That is true of almost any capital city in Africa. Many developing countries in Africa have free ports and other such mechanisms to encourage investors and job creators to invest in those countries because their primary concern is job creation.