‘Unforgivable big companies don’t pay their fair share of tax’
The chief executive of Clearscore has said it is “unforgivable” that some big international companies don’t pay their fair share of UK tax.
Speaking on an up-coming episode of Morning Wire’s Boardroom Uncovered show, Justin Basini said, if he was Prime Minister for the day, he would pass a law that every big business would be required to pay tax based on their revenue in this country.
Basini, who co-founded Clearscore in 2015, told Boardroom Uncovered: “I think it’s frankly unforgivable to operate large businesses in the nation and then optimise your tax position so that you don’t pay money and that you don’t pay tax in that nation.
“[President] Biden nearly pulled off a global tax deal that I think would have guaranteed 15 per cent tax being paid.
“With the change in the White House, that’s gone, but I think that’s a really important thing.
“There’s a social contract in my mind between having a shop on every corner and paying some tax to the infrastructure and to the people and to the education system and to the health service keeping that business ultimately going.”
When asked how likely he thought it is that the current occupiers of Number 10 and Number 11, Downing Street would be interested in that policy idea, Basini said: “I think they would be very keen on it but it requires global coordination.
“And unfortunately we’re in an age where global coordination is slightly less common than it was previously.”
Clearscore CEO eyes London IPO
Also in the episode, Basini said floating Clearscore on the London Stock Exchange would be his “signature achievement”.
He stated London feels like the “natural home” for the company instead of choosing to follow other UK tech firms and list in New York instead.
If an initial public offering in the capital is followed through on, Clearscore is estimated to command a value of between £1.5bn and £2.5bn.
The comments follow the company’s pre-tax profit almost quadrupling in 2024 to £17.9m, while its revenue also increased 17 per cent to £89.7m.