Grolsch’s owner, SABMiller, is dodging its taxes in Africa and India by siphoning millions of pounds into tax havens.

The money African countries lose each year could put an extra 250,000 children in school.

We need your help to schtop tax dodging.

Schtop Tax DodgingYOUR CAMPAIGN GUIDE

Grinding down Ghana Ghana has made huge strides in tackling poverty. Since 1990, the proportion of people going hungry has fallen by 75% and they’ve had five consecutive free and fair elections. But there’s still a long way to go. Women are 70 times more likely to die in childbirth than in Britain, and a third of the population gets malaria every year.

In the capital Accra, SABMiller owns the second biggest brewery in the country. It looks like a great business, with turnover steadily increasing year after year. But it has made no profit and paid no income tax in the last two years. Wonder why?

Every year the company transfers millions of pounds out of Ghana, into tax havens. These payments are so large they wipe out most profits, so the company hardly pays any income tax at all in Ghana.

Guess who pays more income tax?

AnSWEr: MArTA

In the slum next to the Accra Breweries factory, Marta Luttgrodt sells beer in her shop. She works over 12 hours every day to support two children. She says that “Business is difficult. People don’t have money to buy things.” Marta was shocked to hear that for the last two years she has paid more income tax than the giant multinational next door paid in Ghana.

“I don’t believe it. We small businesses are suffering from the authorities. If we don’t pay, they come [to lock our stalls] with a padlock.”

But it’s not just Ghana that’s losing out. We found that the company was using tax havens to avoid its taxes in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and India too. This results in developing countries losing an estimated £20 million a year.

You can read our full report that shows exactly how SABMiller are avoiding their taxes at www.actionaid.org.uk/schtop.

AccrA Brewery, GhAnA

phOTO: JAnE hAhn/AcTIOnAID

MArtA LuttGrodt phOTO: JAnE hAhn/AcTIOnAID

Ophelia Brakwa, 16, wants to be a maths teacher. She lives in Aboasa, a small community ActionAid works with. Aboasa is two hours’ drive from central Accra, along pot hole-ridden dirt tracks.

“My favourite is maths,” she says, “because I can calculate well.” To achieve her dream of becoming a teacher, Ophelia must study in the evening. her village does not have electricity, so Ophelia’s family rely on a single kerosene lamp. “I use a lantern to read at night. We have one lantern for my family. Sometimes I am stopped from studying because my mother needs the light.”

If Ophelia qualifies as a teacher, the Ghanaian government will have to pay her through taxes they collect. Aid money is great for building schools and buying books, but it’s too unpredictable to cover the salaries of teachers.

The people of Aboasa pay local taxes, collected by the local chief. So what do they think about Accra Brewery, which has not paid any income tax in the past two years? Ophelia says “I am appealing to the companies to pay their taxes so that the government can provide our schools and light and water, because we are the human resources of the future.”

“ The human resources of the future”

Who is SABMiller?• The world’s 2nd biggest brewer and

number 1 in Africa

• Owners of over 200 brands, including Grolsch, Peroni, Castle and Miller

• Make profits of £2 billion a year

• HQ just off Park Lane in London

What do we want? In the Financial Times, Graham MacKay, chief Executive of SABMiller said

“By far the greatest contribution business can make to development is through the very act of running its business – paying suppliers, paying wages, paying taxes.”

We agree – so it’s time for his company to schtop tax dodging.

The steps the company must take are:1. Stop using tax havens to siphon profits out of

developing countries.2. Implement a tax code of conduct to explain how its

sustainable development principles apply to its tax affairs.3. Be more transparent, by publishing a basic set of accounts

in every country it works in – including tax havens.

opheLiA BrAkwA, GhAnA

phOTO: JAnE hAhn/AcTIOnAID

Why this company? SABMiller is based in the UK, but it has massive operations in developing countries. It’s the biggest brewer in both Africa and china, second biggest in India, and has 94% of the beer market across six Latin American countries. chief Executive Graham Mackay has said that, “If there were any more of Africa, we’d be investing in it.” The company has a very active corporate social responsibility programme, but its use of tax havens really undermines these efforts. It appears to be increasing its use of tax havens, with more business going through Switzerland and Mauritius. We want to turn it into a market leader for tax justice.

Campaigning for tax justice: the best bits Your actions have already helped put tax justice on the map of all the major UK political parties and at the top of the international political agenda.

October 2008ActionAid supporters first ask Gordon Brown to fill the tax gap. he later agrees that tax havens siphon money out of developing countries.

April 200935,000 people tell the G20 to put people first. They agree to help poor countries tackle tax havens.

September 2009We form The Outlandish Revenue Service and grab the attention of Treasury Minister Stephen Timms. he drives international progress to increase tax transparency.

May 2010ActionAid supporters put tax justice on the map in over 400 constituencies during the general election. All the major parties respond positively.

Tips for talking tax justice Most people understand that tax dodging happens in the UK, but haven’t really thought about how it impacts on developing countries. here are some ideas for convincing people:

• Developing countries lose more to tax dodging than they receive in aid.

• SABMiller, owner of Grolsch, dodges its taxes by siphoning millions into tax havens.

• The money African countries lose each year could put an extra 250,000 children in school.

• Take action at www.actionaid.org.uk/schtop

Take action to schtop tax dodging 3. Mop up more support with

a campaign beer matWe’ve got lots of campaign beer mats you can use to help spread the word. You could even sneak a few into your local pub! Order yours from campaign@actionaid.org or call 01460 23 8047.

Tax dodging isn’t just a cheeky scam. It is ripping off poor countries and keeping them dependent on aid. Africa needs more teachers, doctors and nurses – but can’t get them without the tax revenues to pay their salaries.

It’s a scandal that shopkeeper Marta has been paying more income tax than the company in Ghana. We need your help to make SABMiller, owner of Grolsch, schtop tax dodging.

1. Send a message to the Chief Executive

We need to get our message to the top! Write to Graham Mackay using the example letter (right). You could also send him a special beer mat, or an email through our website.

2. Take action online From taking action, to watching our fantastic campaign video, to spreading the word on Facebook & Twitter, there are loads of great ways to get involved online. We’ll also be able to keep you right up to date with the latest campaign news and action. Go to www.actionaid.org.uk/schtop

Graham MackayChief Executive, SABMiller plc1 Stanhope GateLondon W1K 1AF

Dear Mr. Mackay,

As an ActionAid supporter, I am shocked to hear that SABMiller is using tax havens to

avoid its taxes. African countries are losing enough money to educate an extra 250,000

children. Tax dodging on this scale helps keep whole countries locked in poverty. You have said that “By far the greatest contribution business can make to development

is through the very act of running its business - paying suppliers, paying wages, paying

taxes.” I agree, and would like you to put this into practice as soon as possible. I would specifically ask SABMiller to commit to:1. Stop using tax havens to siphon profits out of developing countries.2. Implement a tax code of conduct to explain how your sustainable development

principles apply to your tax affairs.3. Be more transparent, by publishing a basic set of accounts for every country in

which you work – including tax havens. I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

4. Talk tax dodgingTalk to others in your workplace, community, mosque, synagogue, trade union or church about the campaign and ask them to take action. Download a campaign presentation and script from www.actionaid.org.uk/schtop

5. Got a better idea?There are loads of ways we can schtop the tax dodgers. If you’ve got a better idea, then drop us a line and we’ll see how we can help.

If you have any questions, please get in touch. Thanks for your support and happy campaigning!

www.actionaid.org.uk/schtop

email campaign@actionaid.orgcall 01460 23 8047twitter @actionaidlizfacebook www.facebook.com/actionaiduk

ActionAid is a registered charity, number 274467

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Destination of saBMiller tax haven payMents froM africa

What’s in a dodge? The crucial distinction between avoidance and evasion

We use the terms ‘tax dodging’ or ‘tax avoidance’ interchangeably to cover strategies that are legally permissible, but which ActionAid regards as ethically questionable. There is no suggestion that SABMiller has broken the law by evading tax.