MPs call for greater tax transparency for British overseas territories

A cross-party group of MPs led by Dame Margaret Hodge has called for greater transparency for Britain’s overseas territories in a bid to root out tax avoidance.

The MPs are supporting an amendment to the criminal finances bill on Tuesday, which would see the country’s 14 overseas territories provide more information and reveal the owners of registered companies. They would have until 2020 to make a public register.

The amendment is backed by 80 MPs and is being spearheaded by Dame Margaret, who was previously chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, and will be debated next year.

The move has also garnered support from charities such as Save the Children, Global Witness, ActionAid and Oxfam - which labelled Bermuda, a British territory, as the world's worst corporate tax haven followed by the Cayman Islands.

This also comes in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal which exposed how the wealthy exploited offshore tax regimes, following a leak from law firm Mossack Fonseca in April.