In a speech at this week’s ‘Britain, Europe and tax competition’ conference, recently reappointed Treasury minister David Gauke talked about the new government’s tax plans.
‘Competitiveness is the watchword – but fairness too’, he said. The government ‘will maintain the most competitive business tax regime in the G20’, but he did not think that corporation tax has had its day. There were domestic and international reasons for its continued existence, and ‘to go below a 20% rate [would] require us to address some of the structural issues in our system'.
The diverted profits tax, introduced from April, was ‘consistent with the objectives of the BEPS project’. The DPT was not an attempt to tax profits that have been taxed elsewhere, but was ‘a tax designed to ensure fairness’.
Gauke confirmed that the Office of Tax Simplification would have an expanded role and capacity. The government will also carry out the review on business rates, concluding the review by the end of the year.
Digital tax accounts would be ‘transformative’, he said, particularly for small business. ‘For many, this will herald the end of the tax return. Instead, small businesses will be able to link their business software to their digital account, so that they can see their estimated tax bill in real-time and, if they want, set up regular payments to help manage their cashflow.’
In a speech at this week’s ‘Britain, Europe and tax competition’ conference, recently reappointed Treasury minister David Gauke talked about the new government’s tax plans.
‘Competitiveness is the watchword – but fairness too’, he said. The government ‘will maintain the most competitive business tax regime in the G20’, but he did not think that corporation tax has had its day. There were domestic and international reasons for its continued existence, and ‘to go below a 20% rate [would] require us to address some of the structural issues in our system'.
The diverted profits tax, introduced from April, was ‘consistent with the objectives of the BEPS project’. The DPT was not an attempt to tax profits that have been taxed elsewhere, but was ‘a tax designed to ensure fairness’.
Gauke confirmed that the Office of Tax Simplification would have an expanded role and capacity. The government will also carry out the review on business rates, concluding the review by the end of the year.
Digital tax accounts would be ‘transformative’, he said, particularly for small business. ‘For many, this will herald the end of the tax return. Instead, small businesses will be able to link their business software to their digital account, so that they can see their estimated tax bill in real-time and, if they want, set up regular payments to help manage their cashflow.’
