APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax

Building a fair and transparent tax system. Campaigning against corruption and dirty money. Working cross-party for real change.

Chaired by @phil_brickell

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

With political donations reaching unprecedented levels, Phil argues that Parliament must act now to introduce a clear donation cap, strengthen political finance rules and protect the integrity of our democracy.

Read the full article👉 https://t.co/95CX3BMNoZ

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

This week is Labour Party Conference.

Our Chair, @Phil_Brickell writes for @LabourList on the urgent need to tackle the growing influence of big money in British politics 👇

https://t.co/95CX3BMfzr

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

We'll be coordinating with peers of all parties and none to fix these loopholes and others – to ensure that the Bill is a truly effective safeguard for our precious democracy.

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

Peers from across the Lords used the Second Reading of the Representation of the People Bill to say the same thing: the Bill leaves too much open or unaddressed, and the stakes are too high for it to do so 👇

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

New ‘Know Your Donor’ checks should be made much tougher, in line with the strict standards financial institutions are held to. And the effectiveness of the Bill’s £100,000 cap on overseas donations is already being tested - to the tune of £72m.

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

Why should the taxpayer be asked to stump up, when we should be making the criminals pay?

Get this right, and this Strategy could be transformative.

Find the new Strategy here 👉 https://t.co/nXz51uahQP

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

The APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax welcomes the Government's new Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy.

There is real ambition here, including £550 million of investment over 3 years and 500 new officers across law enforcement and justice 👇

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

But the Government must go further.

We need sustainable funding for the agencies delivering it, including @NCA_UK & @UKSFO; a ring-fenced, multi-year Economic Crime Fighting Fund, which would reinvest a proportion of seized criminal assets back into those that recovered them.

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

Two billionaires handed a political party £72m this weekend. That's more than every party in Britain received in donations across the whole of last year.

Today peers begin debating the Representation of the People Bill. The APPG is backing amendments to secure our democracy.

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

The £451m committed to reviving high streets is great news, but the underlying market still contains dangerous loopholes that favour criminal operators.

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

Member and former APPG Chair @josephpowell writes on this week's high street announcements - including new local powers over what opens, longer closure orders, and a permanent successor to Operation Machinize.

https://t.co/9gSU4O0g8p

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

- A statutory 'Know Your Tenant' duty on commercial landlords - who currently owe no duty to check who they let to

- Permanent closure for repeat offenders

- An end to the £13 getaway - a company can be born for £100 and buried for £13, with no final accounts required

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

With at least £1bn laundered through high street businesses every year, this is a serious step forward in ending the kind of corrupt practices that we all bear witness to in our communities on a daily basis.

There's plenty more yet to do...

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

✅ 𝑨𝑷𝑷𝑮 𝑾𝑰𝑵

The Government has announced new powers for councils to take back control of the high street - measures the APPG has been calling for.

1. New vape shops will now need planning permission, closing the loophole that let them open unchecked 👇

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

2. The definition of a vape shop is being tightened so operators can't dodge the rules by posing as convenience stores.

3. Closure orders will double from 6 to 12 months, giving law enforcement time to investigate links to organised crime - and stop rogue operators reopening.

[APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax @APPGCorruption]

If you've got money, getting politicians to listen is often far easier than if you've just got a vote. That has to change.

An independent review has backed reforms to drag lobbying out of the shadows.

No more hidden meetings. No more special treatment. No more backroom deals.