Time for a windfall tax on the PFI profiteers, says UNISON

The enormous profits being racked up by Private Finance Initiative (PFI) companies should be subject to a new windfall tax, so much-needed resources can be put back into the UK’s cash-strapped public services, says UNISON today (Monday). Such a tax could be introduced if two amendments to the Finance Bill, which have been tabled by Stella Creasy MP, achieve enough support during Wednesday’s House of Commons debate on the draft legislation. UNISON believes a new windfall tax could prove a lifeline to under pressure public services. It would mean PFI firms are forced to pay back some of the billions of pounds they’ve been raking in at taxpayers’ expense, says UNISON. Government cuts to spending have placed schools, hospitals and local councils in dire financial straits – a desperate situation made worse by the huge PFI loan repayments they’re locked into over many years, says the union. When many PFI deals were signed by the Treasury corporation tax was 30%, but now it’s 19%. Cuts to the tax mean the PFI companies are making even more money than they thought they would, making the strong case for a windfall tax, UNISON believes. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Eye-wateringly high PFI payments are threatening to overwhelm our already cash-strapped public services. “Local communities may now have shiny new schools and hospitals but at huge cost. The repayments on PFI debt have to be made first, and are so steep that teaching assistants are losing t...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News Press release government PFI public services Source Type: news