(UKPA) – 10 hours ago

Anti-cuts activists are to stage a day of action against leading stores, including Top Shop, Vodafone and Boots, as part of a campaign to highlight "tax avoiders".

Members of the UK Uncut group will hold protests in more than 30 towns and cities across the country ahead of Monday's tax return deadline, including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Aberdeen and Plymouth.

The group said it wanted to complain that the Government will fine ordinary people who miss the deadline for self-assessment tax returns while companies are avoiding tax.

Dannie Wright, spokesman for UK Uncut, said: "While we rush to complete our tax forms, rich corporations and individuals are getting away with billions of pounds of tax every year.

"They can employ armies of lawyers and accountants to exploit legal loopholes and dodge billions in tax.

"The Government insists that drastic public spending cuts and a hike in VAT are essential, but they will hit the poor and vulnerable the hardest, while the richest dodge tax with virtual impunity."

Paul Maloney, national officer of the GMB union, said: "GMB welcomes and applauds the campaign by UK Uncut to move the issue of tax avoidance and tax evasion into the centre of the political stage and to challenge the double standards that have until now been accepted as central to economic policy and official attitudes to incomes and taxation in the UK and other developed countries.

"For the multimillionaire elite we are asked to buy the line that, unless they are paid vast and increasing fortunes and are allowed to pay little tax, this will be damaging to the economy.

"For the rest of us we are asked to buy the line that, unless we accept pay freezes and increased taxation, this will be damaging to the economy. This is pure double standards and it is no longer acceptable."

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.