UK Plc Supports New Oxford University Tax Research Initiative

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

10 October 2005

A new research centre partly funded by Britain's top companies is being established at Oxford University to study taxation policies and policy options affecting businesses in the United Kingdom.

The newly established Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation will carry out a programme of multi-disciplinary research drawing together expertise within the University across a wide range of areas including economics, finance and law. The Hundred Group, which represents the interests of the largest listed companies in the UK, is cooperating with the University in the project, and is making a donation of £5 million to support the work of the centre over a five year period.

The new centre will examine the approach to the taxation of business activities in the UK and evaluate the effects of the present structure of taxation on the business sector, the public finances, international competitiveness and the wider economy. It will also address policy options that take account of the international dimension to business activity, the interaction between different tax systems and the global influences on policy formulation.

The brainchild of Dr Christopher Wales, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs International and a former Member of the Council of Economic Advisers at HM Treasury, the initiative is expected to work closely with the multinational business community in the UK, the government, the European Commission, the OECD and other academic research centres both inside and outside the UK.

Jon Symonds, Chief Financial Officer of AstraZeneca and chair of the Hundred Group, believes that the research facility will make a "major contribution" to the evolution of tax policy in the UK.

"In an increasingly competitive international environment, it is essential to explore new policy options and carry out a rigorous analysis of their implications for business, the tax yield and the economy," he observed.

The project, which is expected to be up and running by September 2006, has also been welcomed by the government, with Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and formerly Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, noting that the research centre will fill "a significant gap" in knowledge on the effects of tax policy on business.

"I anticipate that the Centre will have a very positive relationship with policy-makers in government and look forward to seeing the results of its work," Mr O'Donnell remarked.

Recommended