Tax returns – publish and be damned says MEP

North West Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Chris Davies is calling for the tax records of every person in the country to be made publically available.

With some local councils said to be resisting Government demands that they reveal the salaries paid to chief officers, Mr Davies says that Britain should adopt a policy of total openness and transparency.

Income and tax details of every individual are already available on the internet in Norway, and partly so in Sweden and Finland.

Mr Davies said: “These countries are strong in their defence of human rights yet they have no problem with being completely open about income and taxes.

“It is a healthier situation than in Britain.”

The MEP says that elected politicians are now expected to reveal details about some of their sources of income. Publishing tax returns would bring total transparency.

He points out that there is also growing pressure for details of the pay packages paid to BBC presenters and personalities such as Jonathan Ross to be published.

There is currently controversy surrounding Conservative donor and vice-chairman Lord Ashcroft and Labour donor Lord Paul with questions about how much tax they pay in the UK.

Mr Davies continued: “Increasingly people want to know just how much is being paid out of their taxes to public sector employees.

“If the rule applies to Council Chief Executives it should also apply to other council employees as well as doctors, dentists, teachers and the military.

“With nationalised banks lending taxpayers money to businesses it would be strange to have one rule for the public sector and another for the private sector.

“It is right that we should know how much bankers are getting in pay and perks as well as how much our top public servants are getting from our taxes.

“In Norway it is simply taken for granted that this is the procedure and no-one worries. If there are some people who might be embarrassed if these details were to be made public then perhaps that is because they have reason to be embarrassed.”

The MEP publishes full details of his salary and allowances on his website and will publish his tax return online by 26 February.