It argues that use of offshore tax havens denies both the UK and the
developing countries where many UK companies make and sell their goods
millions of pounds in revenue which could be spent improving the lives of
the disadvantaged.

Martin Hearson, ActionAid’s tax policy adviser, said: “It is far too easy
for companies to avoid tax, whether in the UK or developing countries.
What’s more, it is simply amazing that so many companies in the UK are
consistently failing to follow established legislation on offshore
subsidiaries, and are so rarely penalised for it.

“By highlighting examples of tax avoidance and planning, we hope to pressure
companies to act differently, and pressure the Government to take a more
combative approach. What we want, in the long term, is to see much more
transparent financial reporting, where companies are obliged to not only
list their subsidiaries and their locations, but exactly how much profit is
made and how much tax is paid in each country they operate in.”

A spokesman for Companies House said: “Companies House works within the
parameters of the Companies Act 2006. Therefore, when we receive a complaint
regarding incomplete documents on the Register, we will write to the company
in question to endeavour to obtain their compliance, where there may be an
issue.”