ATL

Northern Ireland

Are big corporations costing you money? ATL Northern Ireland director Mark Lanhammer gives his view

Are teachers paying too much tax? Since the credit crunch it is becoming more obvious daily that a 'golden circle' has operated on the Leona Helmsley principle that tax is for the 'little people'. Tax evasion on an industrial scale is bilking the Treasury of billions.

Respected tax expert Richard Murphy estimates the cost of evasion by super-wealthy individuals and large corporates to be in the range of £25 billion to £33 billion every year! More than a third of corporate businesses pay no tax at all, with others paying very little. This could add between £0.71 billion and £0.94 billion into Northern Ireland's coffers. In addition, top tax bands receive pension tax breaks of a further £30 billion a year.

The tax burden has shifted from the financial elite to PAYE taxpayers and middle earners, teachers included. The City of London was described by the International Monetary Fund as a "tax haven". In the 2008 Bill presented to the US Congress, Barack Obama identified 34 tax havens for the super-rich. Nine are under British control and a further 15 are former colonies where British influence remains strong.

Britain is at the nexus of global tax evasion - a problem lavishly facilitated by successive deregulating governments. The era of middle and low earners subsidising the super-rich is over. Now is the time for teachers to join the growing international campaign for tax justice.