TAX DODGES RIFE IN NORTH SEA OIL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2016 :: RMTnews 6 After “solid” strike action by Eurostar train manager members last month the company has agreed to talk to resolve long-standing issues around work/life balance. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that members had sent a message to the company that the union expect them to honour basic agreements with the union that date back eight years. A new report has lifted the lid on the secretive corporate structures and aggressive tax minimisation schemes used by Chevron and other major North Sea oil producers. The International Transport Workers Federation report, Offshore Oil, Offshore Tax.has revealed that Chevron uses a complex web of companies to route money through the Netherlands, Bermuda and other tax havens and has over 200 active subsidiaries in Bermuda alone. ITF general secretary Steve Cotton said that this was at a time when there has been a dramatic reduction in tax revenue from the North Sea. “In the mid 1980’s, taxes on North Sea oil production accounted for nearly nine per cent of all tax receipts collected by the UK Government - today it is just 0.7 per cent. “While production has fallen, tax revenues have fallen much further, due to tax cuts and aggressive tax minimisation schemes. “To put this revenue slump in context British motorists paid six times more tax on petrol ($26.9 billion in 13/14), excluding VAT, than the oil and gas industry paid on all taxes covering North Sea oil production ($4.4 billion in 13/14). “It is well documented that both Shell and BP are using similar corporate structures to reduce their tax in the UK. Both BP and Shell in 2014 paid no UK corporate tax. “I think the public will demand action from our political leaders to get to the bottom of what this report has found. “The UK Parliament needs to establish an inquiry to investigate the corporate structures used by the oil companies operating in the North Sea and the impact they have on security, taxes and royalties,” he said. Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell MP said that the new research blew open the complex tax avoidance measures undertaken by a major multinational. “Anyone concerned with ending the scourge of tax avoidance needs to pay careful attention to its findings. It's time to put a stop to these complex company structures that rip off taxpayers and place extra strains on public services across the globe,” he said. TAX DODGES RIFE IN NORTH SEA SOLID AND DETERMINED EUROSTAR STRIKE