Charity highlights cost of tax evasion

A leading charity has highlighted the physical consequences of evading the payment of tax.

According to the findings of charity Christian Aid, an organisation with a history going back to the 1940s, a total of 1,000 children die every day as a direct consequence of tax evasion.

"The abuse is so widespread and damaging that it is tantamount to a new slavery," said Dr Daleep Mukarji, Christian Aid's director.

"The rich are getting richer on the backs of some of the most impoverished and vulnerable communities in the world."

Indeed, worldwide, Christian Aid believes that a total of £82 billion in tax revenues is lost every year, resulting in a loss for the world's poorer countries.

The organisation is also calling up the UK government to take action against tax havens; among the locations which do not levy a personal income tax include Monaco and Andorra.