TOWN hall chiefs are being urged to join the fight against tax avoidance.

A motion will go before Bury full council on Wednesday night calling for a report to be delivered to cabinet members on the issue within 12 months.

It will consider how the authority can require all firms bidding for council contracts to self-certify that they are "tax-compliant in line with central government practice".

And it will also look into how the council can work with public and private sector partners on how it can use procurement to reduce tax avoidance.

The report also notes that corporate tax evasion and avoidance is having a damaging impact on the world’s poorest countries, costing them "far more" than they receive in aid.

And it adds that the practice is costing the UK as much as £30bn a year and also having a negative effect on small and medium-sized companies who pay more tax proportionately.

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