Oxfam urges reform of tax laws in Prescription for Poverty report

Oxfam has called for swifter action against tax avoidance by multinationals after its research showed pharmaceutical firms used Irish tax law to reduce the amount of corporation tax they paid — to zero in one case.

The aid agency says while there is nothing illegal about the companies’ management of their tax affairs, they are being allowed to “profit shift” to avoid high rates of corporation tax which in turn deprives countries where profits are generated of badly needed revenue.