The Rt Hon George Osborne MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
1 Horseguards Road
London SW1A 2HQ

8th August 2011

Dear George,

I am writing to you because a constituent recently contacted me about tax avoidance and evasion by multinational companies. I personally share her concern about this issue and, as you may know, tabled a Private Members Bill designed to promote tax and financial transparency earlier this year.
The information that my Bill would require companies to provide is vital if we are to ensure that multinational corporations make a fair and proper contribution to society. My constituent is particularly concerned about the scope for exploiting countries in the global South. Increasing transparency in financial reporting would mean that companies operating at an international level must pay taxes to the countries that provide them with an opportunity to trade - thus forcing them to take corporate social responsibility seriously.
I think it is important to introduce legislation to this end on an international level. I welcome the commitment made at the London G20 summit to crack down on tax havens and to ensure the benefits were shared with developing countries. The upcoming G20 summit in November of this year presents an important opportunity to further the progress of this commitment, and to ensure that action has been, and continues to be, taken at a global level.
I hope that the UK will be using the summit as an opportunity to champion proposals that would make all multinational companies publish accounts for every country they operate in, including tax havens.
I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas, MP, Brighton Pavilion