Christian Aid is urging the Big Four accounting firms to back a new initiative to stamp out tax avoidance schemes by multinational corporations operating in developing countries.

The charity says that current accounting rules allow multinationals to ‘wriggle out’ of paying as much as $160bn in tax a year – money it feels should be used to fuel development in third world economies.

It is calling for a new set of global accounting rules to ensure that large corporations account for their profits on a country-by-country basis, which would allow governments of poorer countries to claim a fairer share of the wealth generated in their countries.

Heads of the Big Four are being encouraged to use their influence at the International Accounting Standards Board to pave the way for country-by-country reporting.

“We’ve spoken with all of the Big Four and none of them has indicated that they are willing to support country-based reporting of profits”, said Christian Aid statement. “Nor have they managed to give a convincing argument as to why this would not be a good idea”.