The Role of Governmental and Non-Elite Sources in the UK Tax Avoidance Debate
Tax avoidance and tax evasion by corporations and wealthy individuals has become a
prominent political issue in recent years. Estimates of the cost lost to the Exchequer
in evasion/avoidance range from £20 billion to £120 billion per year. In the run up to
the 2015 General Election Labour and the Conservatives have both made pledges
that they will attempt to close this ‘tax gap’. This research will examines how British
press and television news have covered the issues of tax avoidance and tax evasion
since 2010.
The research will use content analysis to explore a) shifts in the visibility of the issues
in different parts of the media b) patterns of source access c) arguments for and
against tax avoidance/evasion, and d) solutions offered to combat tax
avoidance/evasion. The key media outlets which will be analyzed will be the the
Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Mail, Sun and Mirror as well as the 10 O’Clock news
bulletins on ITV and BBC1.
The student should be familiar with using content analysis (preferably including
thematic content analysis or framing analysis) and should be able to work 35 hours a
week for 8 weeks on the project, with the start date 1 st of June, 2015 and finishing
on the 27th of July, 2015.
The position has a start date of 1st of June and will pay a stipend of £1440. To apply,
please complete and return the attached application form, along with a CV to
[email protected] by 12 noon on Monday, 27th April 2015. Informal interviews
have been provisionally scheduled for the first two weeks of May.
This position is open to all Cardiff University undergraduate students except those
graduating in 2015.