ProbityCo – Make War History
For many years, Chris Coverdale, the founder member of ProbityCo, has refused to contribute his tax to Britain’s illegal wars. His ethical concerns about his government’s role in these wars led him to challenge the use of taxpayer money for such purposes.
However, in 2014 a judge deemed his arguments ‘frivolous’ and sentenced Chris to jail three times—in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Chris then discovered that thousands of the UK’s wealthiest individuals use trusts to withhold tax without facing imprisonment – a trust is a legal arrangement to ensure that assets go to named beneficiaries. Chris decided to place his tax in a revocable trust. Using this mechanism, taxes are set aside for HM Government (the primary beneficiary of the trust) until such time that the government can prove that none of the funds will be used to support war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Should they be unable to do so, they forfeit their right to access the monies, the trust can be terminated and the money donated to other causes.
To date, this approach has worked for Chris. The demands have been reduced considerably and Chris remains a free man because he is no longer willfully refusing to pay tax, just setting his taxes aside until such time that the government can prove his taxes will not be used to fund war crimes.
