ICAEW Urges Government To Ensure That Corporate Tax Reforms Are Revenue Neutral

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

14 August 2002

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) called on the UK government this week to confirm that new corporate tax reforms are intended to be revenue neutral, and are not just another attempt to squeeze more taxes from the country's business community.

Although he announced that the Institute welcomes the recently released consultation paper on corporate tax reform as 'an important development in the debate, deserving of careful consideration', Ian Hayes, Chairman of the ICAEW's tax faculty explained that:

'Some commentators have become so suspicious of government spin that the immediate reaction to these proposals has been to presume their sole or main objective is to raise revenue for the exchequer.'

He continued: 'The debate would progress far better if the government made an unequivocal statement that the proposed changes are intended to be tax neutral. This needs to be coupled with a commitment to publish a detailed regulatory impact assessment confirming this is the case. These steps will ensure the proposals are received positively by business.'

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