To combat tax avoidance, tough talk is not enough

The prime minister has given us plenty of tough talk about cracking down on tax avoidance. Whether he can deliver a concrete agreement will be a crucial test of his leadership. In 2005, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown emerged from the Gleneagles summit with a concrete agreement to write off the debt owed by the world’s poorest countries. If he matches their success, it will be a substantial achievement. If he fails on the world stage, he must commit, as Ed Miliband has done, to taking tough action at home to ensure a fair and just tax system for all.

Margaret Hodge writing in The Guardian on how the G8 must prioritise a crack down on tax avoidance. Ms Hodge suggests a number of ways this could be achieved and offers advice to David Cameron on how to negotiate with the crown dependencies involved.