Samoa’s tax lost each year to tax havens is $205,989,539 USD

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The world is losing over $427 billion (USD) in tax a year to international tax abuse. 

Of the $427 billion, nearly $245 billion is lost to multinational corporations shifting profit into tax havens in order to underreport how much profit they actually made in the countries where they do business and consequently pay less tax than they should. 

The remaining $182 billion is lost to wealthy individuals hiding undeclared assets and incomes offshore, beyond the reach of the law, says the Global Alliance for Tax Justice. 

According to the global tax alliance Samoa’s tax lost each year to tax havens is $205,989,539 USD. 

The Global Alliance for Tax Justice is a growing movement of civil society organisations and activists, united in campaigning for greater transparency, democratic oversight and redistribution of wealth in national and global tax systems. They comprise the five regional tax justice networks of Africa, Latin America, Asia, North America and Europe, which collectively represent hundreds of organisations. 

In a report by the Global Alliance for Tax Justice calls on governments to introduce an excess profit tax on the large multinational corporations whose profits have soared during the pandemic while local businesses were forced into lockdown. 

For the digital tech giants who claim to have our best interests at heart but have been short-changing us out of billions in tax for years, this could be their redemption tax.

Furthermore, governments must introduce a wealth tax to reign in the billions in tax lost to tax havens every year. There has been an explosion in the asset values of the wealthiest since the pandemic began, even as unemployment has soared to record levels in many countries.

A wealth tax would make sure that those with the broadest shoulders contribute as they should at this critical time.

Higher income countries lose a lot more tax than lower income countries, but the impact of those tax losses are far greater on lower income countries public spending. Higher incomes countries tax losses are equal to 8 per cent of their public health budgets while lower incomes countries tax losses are equal to over half their public health budgets.