Campaigners press for retailers to join united front in pushing for action after Amazon petition prompts Commons debate
Chris White, the booksellers' MP … 'Structuring businesses to avoid taxation' does not fulfil companies' corporate responsibility. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian
Two independent booksellers, whose petition urging Amazon to pay its "fair share" of tax in the UK has received more than 169,000 signatures, are calling on their MP to keep up the pressure on government to ensure companies such as Amazon pay what they say would be a fairer level of corporation tax in Britain.
The booksellers and campaigners against tax avoidance Frances and Keith Smith, who run bookshops in Kenilworth and Warwick, Warwickshire, are urging Chris White, Conservative MP for Warwick and Leamington, to take a lead in ensuring HMRC identifies exactly how much taxable profit corporations are generating in the UK.
They also want White to build on the momentum he started at a Commons debate on 27 June, which drew cross-party support for greater scrutiny of multinationals' tax affairs, by forming an alliance with high-profile retailers, such as the Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King and John Lewis's managing director Andy Street – who have both spoken out on corporate tax avoidance.
In the debate, prompted by the Smiths' petition, handed in to Downing Street in April with 157,953 signatures, MPs called on HMRC to be more specific in pinpointing the UK business divisions within multinational conglomerates that are turning a profit in the UK, and not in other jurisdictions, as claimed for tax purposes.
Keith Smith said: "We're often left feeling that it's just words. It's down to HMRC to investigate more. And government should change the ground rules – you can't say there isn't an operation in the UK when it seems obvious to the layman that there is. We need now to band together with these high-profile retail leaders, it's important to keep building the momentum."
The call comes as the organisers of Independent Booksellers Week, which runs until 6 July, published research showing that 60% of book buyers say recent revelations about internet-only booksellers' tax affairs made them less likely to shop for books online.
The Smiths started their petition calling on Amazon to pay its fair share of tax in the UK after Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, attacked Amazon, Google and Starbucks last year over their tax affairs.
Speaking at last week's debate, White said: "Businesses have a moral responsibility to play a full part in our society, and structuring businesses in order to avoid taxation and to make it harder for tax authorities to monitor their business is not fulfilling that responsibility. The endless game of cat and mouse with tax authorities having to plug gaps and investigate subsidiaries, and multinational companies developing ever more complicated legal structures to avoid paying tax, is simply unsustainable and destructive."
White received support during the debate from Hodge and Paul Farrelly, the Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, who said there was "plenty that HMRC can do".
Frances Smith said: "We have support from people on all sides – it's not just bookshops, it's also other independent retailers who are struggling, while these multinational companies are squirrelling away money."
The Independent Booksellers Week research, which surveyed 2,045 UK book buyers in the UK, also showed that 88% of buyers are concerned that there are fewer bookshops on the high street compared with five years ago, and that 91.7% think action needs to be taken to support high streets. However, 63.5% admit to browsing in a bookshop and then buying books online.
The booksellers and campaigners against tax avoidance Frances and Keith Smith, who run bookshops in Kenilworth and Warwick, Warwickshire, are urging Chris White, Conservative MP for Warwick and Leamington, to take a lead in ensuring HMRC identifies exactly how much taxable profit corporations are generating in the UK.
They also want White to build on the momentum he started at a Commons debate on 27 June, which drew cross-party support for greater scrutiny of multinationals' tax affairs, by forming an alliance with high-profile retailers, such as the Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King and John Lewis's managing director Andy Street – who have both spoken out on corporate tax avoidance.
In the debate, prompted by the Smiths' petition, handed in to Downing Street in April with 157,953 signatures, MPs called on HMRC to be more specific in pinpointing the UK business divisions within multinational conglomerates that are turning a profit in the UK, and not in other jurisdictions, as claimed for tax purposes.
Keith Smith said: "We're often left feeling that it's just words. It's down to HMRC to investigate more. And government should change the ground rules – you can't say there isn't an operation in the UK when it seems obvious to the layman that there is. We need now to band together with these high-profile retail leaders, it's important to keep building the momentum."
The call comes as the organisers of Independent Booksellers Week, which runs until 6 July, published research showing that 60% of book buyers say recent revelations about internet-only booksellers' tax affairs made them less likely to shop for books online.
The Smiths started their petition calling on Amazon to pay its fair share of tax in the UK after Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, attacked Amazon, Google and Starbucks last year over their tax affairs.
Speaking at last week's debate, White said: "Businesses have a moral responsibility to play a full part in our society, and structuring businesses in order to avoid taxation and to make it harder for tax authorities to monitor their business is not fulfilling that responsibility. The endless game of cat and mouse with tax authorities having to plug gaps and investigate subsidiaries, and multinational companies developing ever more complicated legal structures to avoid paying tax, is simply unsustainable and destructive."
White received support during the debate from Hodge and Paul Farrelly, the Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, who said there was "plenty that HMRC can do".
Frances Smith said: "We have support from people on all sides – it's not just bookshops, it's also other independent retailers who are struggling, while these multinational companies are squirrelling away money."
The Independent Booksellers Week research, which surveyed 2,045 UK book buyers in the UK, also showed that 88% of buyers are concerned that there are fewer bookshops on the high street compared with five years ago, and that 91.7% think action needs to be taken to support high streets. However, 63.5% admit to browsing in a bookshop and then buying books online.
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