A competitive corporate tax system is not just about rates, the Treasury said as it launched five consultations.
The top 15 banks operating in the UK have now adopted the Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks, the Chancellor announced. ‘Alongside the Bank Levy, this shows that the Coalition Government is taking action to ensure banks pay their fair share,’ George Osborne said.
‘Many banks, particularly US institutions, had been reluctant to sign up to an extra-statutory code [the Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks] because of uncertainty over its implications,’ the Financial Times reported (30 November).
The Government has estimated that there are 190 open HMRC enquiries under the controlled foreign companies legislation, said Mark Hoban in a Commons written answer.
The Tax Avoidance Schemes (Prescribed Descriptions of Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations, SI 2010/2834, amend with effect from 1 January 2011 some of the descriptions of schemes that are required to be disclosed, in order to ‘improve their focus upon tax avoidance’.
The Treasury announced five consultations on 29 November dealing with controlled foreign companies, taxation of foreign profits, profits arising from patents and R&D tax credits:
Treasury ministers know the difference between tax planning, tax avoidance and tax evasion, David Gauke told experts attending the ICAEW’s Hardman lecture.
The Tax Avoidance Schemes (Penalty) (Amendment) Regulations, SI 2010/2743, prescribe increased maximum daily penalties for failure to comply with certain disclosure obligations where a tax tribunal has made a disclosure order.
The number of disclosures of avoidance schemes has fallen in the six months to 30 September 2010, according to provisional figures released by HMRC. Fifty-six disclosures were made, including 48 relating to direct taxes and NICs. There were 99 disclosures in the six months to 31 March 2010.
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on country-by-country reporting by multinational companies.