Professor Christine Cooper of the Department of Accounting and Finance joined David Martin MEP, David Wood (Executive Director, Technical Policy, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland) and other accountants, academics and Christian Aid researchers in a Christian Aid-sponsored round table discussion addressing the issue of large-scale tax avoidance by multi-national corporations, held at the European Parliament Office in Edinburgh on March 19.
David Martin said, "I have learned from my Christian Aid colleagues that poor developing countries are losing out to the tune of 160 billion (dollars) in legitimate tax revenue due to tax avoidance procedures put in place by well known corporations. This is robbing the poor to feather the nests of the rich and should be stopped. I am determined to make sure this issue is taken up at the European Union level - the EU should work with President Obama who has promised to crack down on tax havens."