Olympic Tax-dodging

“Loving it: Huge tax breaks for Olympic sponsors”

Imagine seeing that headline on the front of your paper in the final countdown to the Olympic opening ceremony. As the eyes of the world focus on London, this is the perfect opportunity to expose the corporate sponsors who’ll be dodging tax during the games.

The UK’s winning Olympic bid included huge tax breaks for sponsors. As a result, massive multi-nationals stand to make a tax-free fortune. Experts think the UK could be losing tens of millions.

As sponsors, these companies will be banking on loads of positive media exposure. Let’s use that to our advantage, turn the tables, and roll out a massive petition demanding they pay their fair share. If the petition is big enough, and attracts enough media attention, it could be the first step in scaring these image-conscious companies into refusing their gold-plated tax break.

Can you add your name to the petition to the heads of these big companies demanding they turn down their Olympic tax dodge?

The whole reason these gigantic companies are involved in the Olympics is for the image boost it’ll provide. A tarnished brand is their PR team’s worst nightmare. So what’ll scare them most is our huge petition being covered in the media, and high-profile hand-ins at their flagship stores. Sources tell us a few of the sponsors may already be rattled. Let’s show them their Olympic tax-dodge isn’t worth the PR damage by piling into the petition and sharing it with friends.

38 Degrees members keep on voting to tackle tax-dodging. Together, we’ve forced it onto the political agenda. Now it’s time to focus in on the companies who stand to make the biggest profits. A massive public outcry demanding that these Olympic giants pay their fair share could be the first step in putting an end to corporate tax-dodging.

***UPDATE***

The petition is working. McDonald’s have said they won’t be taking the tax break – can you help keep up pressure on the other sponsors by signing the petition now?