Last year Barclays paid just £113 million tax on its profits (globally £5 billion, of which around half was made in the UK). Barclays, an enormous multinational bank, paid about 5% tax, much less than the workers who clean its corporate offices or staff the desks in its high-street branches.
The government has been shamed into introducing legislation to close some of the loopholes that have allowed banks and other multinationals to carry out this kind of tax avoidance, but the figures speak for themselves. The Tory mantra that cuts are necessary because “there’s no money” is simply a lie. There is money. The problem lies with who controls it.
The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty fights for a world where the vast wealth evident in a grotesque tax dodge such as that of Barclays is collectively owned and democratically managed to meet human need. Our paper Solidarity is our essential tool for agitating, educating and organising for that idea. To continue that work, we need your help.
None of Barclays’ reclaimed taxes are coming our way. We rely on you for financial support. We need money to continue publishing Solidarity as a weekly, improve our website, organise events such as our Ideas for Freedom summer school, and for a host of other costs.
Please consider:
* Taking out a monthly standing order to the AWL. There is a form at www.workersliberty.org/resources and on this page. Even a few pounds a month really does help.
* Making a donation. You can send it to us at the address below (cheques payable to “AWL”) or do it online at www.workersliberty.org/donate.
* Organising a fundraising event.
* Taking copies of Solidarity to sell at your workplace, university/college or campaign group.
* Getting in touch to discuss joining the AWL.
For more information on any of the above, contact us: tel. 07796 690 874 / awl@workersliberty.org / AWL, 20E Tower Workshops, 58 Riley Road, SE1 3DG.
Total raised so far: £9,333
We raised £860 this week, mostly from new and increased standing orders. (Thanks to Tim, Ben, Ed, Rebecca, Eric and Paul)