Fair Tax Mark turns two!

This month marks the Fair Tax Mark’s 2nd birthday – here’s a snapshot of what we’ve achieved this year.

1. We’re now 17 businesses strong and the number is growing all the time. We also achieved a 100% renewal rate. Look out for new businesses announcing their accreditations this month. Last Christmas, you could even buy Fair Tax presents.

2. We’ve joined forces with Christian Aid to support their new ‘Sourced’ campaign. This aims to get local councils to question companies about their tax affairs before awarding contracts. With Oxford, Belfast already on board and a major Northern Council also adopting the measures, we believe the campaign will start turning the tide in favour of companies that pay Fair Tax. Take action here.

3. With all the news about Google and others, tax avoidance remains high on the agenda. More and more politicians are starting to see that the Fair Tax Mark is part of the solution. Watch them in a debate here. We hope that government is listening…

4. This year, our businesses came out publicly in favour of new measures suggested by the European Parliament to help tackle tax avoidance. This is the first time that businesses have ever taken a proactive stand on this issue. We salute them! The vote was also passed with a massive majority, so we may well see a Fair Tax Mark across the whole of Europe.

5. Back in June last year, we held our first annual conference. Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK hailed it a ‘historic day’ as it signalled the birth of a movement that he believed could surpass Fair Trade. Very notable contributions came from SSE, our FTSE100 Fair Tax pioneers as well as Midcounties, a founder of the Fair Tax Mark alongside Unity Trust Bank and the Phone Coop.

Look out for more accreditations, events and progress as we enter our third year!