The £500 million in avoided tax that Barclays bank will now have to pay could fund full-time jobs above the living wage for all the young people who have been working for free under the government ‘work experience’ scheme.
Divided between the 34,000 16 to 24-year-olds who have been put onto the programme, the money could pay salaries of £14,706 a year, or £8.08 an hour for a 35-hour week.
A tax loophole that allowed Barclays to avoid paying £500 million in corporation tax has been closed by HM Revenue and Customs.
PCS points out that this is a “drop in the ocean” compared to more than £120 billion in tax revenue that is avoided, evaded or uncollected every year.
