UK Treasury Unveils Plans On Taxing Companies' Foreign Profits
30 Junho 2011 - 9:11AM
Dow Jones News
U.K. multinational companies won't have to pay tax on profits
from overseas activities under new proposals designed to make the
U.K.'s tax system more competitive, the Treasury said Thursday.
The proposals also include a crack-down on companies that
"artificially" divert profits made in the U.K. to other low-tax
countries to avoid paying tax. A consultation on the proposals will
run until Sept. 22.
The Treasury said the proposals were aimed at striking a balance
between improving competitiveness and protecting the U.K. tax base
from tax avoidance.
"Multinational business plays an important role in this, but as
the marketplace has become increasingly globalized, the U.K. has
lost tax competitiveness," said David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to
the Treasury.
The taxing of U.K. based multinationals' foreign profits--known
as controlled foreign company tax rules--is an issue that dogged
the previous Labour government and led to the departure of several
high-profile firms, including advertising company WPP PLC (WPP.LN),
media group United Business Media Ltd. (UBM.LN), pharmaceuticals
company Shire PLC (SHP.LN) and asset management firm Henderson
Group PLC (HGI.LN).
The U.K.'s coalition government, which came into office in May
2010, has moved quickly to make changes to the country's corporate
tax regime in an effort to stop other companies leaving and to
attract back the ones that have already left.
The government's stance was applauded by WPP, with the company's
chief executive Martin Sorrell in June saying the group intends to
move its headquarters back to the U.K.
In March, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced
plans to reduce the U.K.'s corporate tax rate to 23% by 2014, which
would give the U.K. the lowest rate among the Group of Seven
leading countries. The corporate tax rate was reduce by two
percentage points to 26% on April 1 with a plan to reduce it by a
further percentage point every year until 2014.
Chris Sanger, head of tax policy at business services Ernst
& Young, said the business community would welcome the
proposals. "Today's consultation document shows a real intention
towards making the U.K. tax system an asset, and will play an
important role in helping to meet the coalition's pledge of having
the most competitive tax system in the G-20," he said.
-By Ainsley Thomson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9318;
ainsley.thomson@dowjones.com
(Ruth Bender in Paris and Steve McGrath in London contributed to
this report.)
Henderson Group (ASX:HGG)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Out 2024 até Nov 2024
Henderson Group (ASX:HGG)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Nov 2023 até Nov 2024
