UK: Corporate tax haven or hell?

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

UK: Corporate tax haven or hell?

hell-puff.jpg

The UK is at the centre of a global debate on tax avoidance and the government is being pressed from all sides to make changes to the tax system. One significant change has been the announcement, in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, that the corporate tax rate will fall to 21% instead of 22% by 2015. But, amid complaints that multinationals are not paying enough tax in the UK, is this the right way for the government to go? Or is the UK becoming a tax haven for multinationals? Sophie Ashley talks to international tax practitioners about how the UK is shaping up and whether the government needs to change the law, rather than introduce different incentives, when it comes to multinationals’ operations.

Unlock this content.

The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers.

To unlock this content:

Take a Free Trial or Login
more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

A new transatlantic firm under the name of Winston Taylor is expected to go live in May 2026 with more than 1,400 lawyers and 20 offices
As ITR’s exclusive data uncovers in-house dissatisfaction with case management, advisers cite Italy’s arcane tax rules
The new guidance is not meant to reflect a substantial change to UK law, but the requirement that tax advice is ‘likely to be correct’ imposes unrealistic expectations
Taylor Wessing, whose most recent UK revenues were £283.7m, would become part of a £1.23bn firm post combination
China and a clutch of EU nations have voiced dissent after Estonia shot down the US side-by-side deal; in other news, HMRC has awarded companies contracts to help close the tax gap
An EY survey of almost 2,000 tax leaders also found that only 49% of respondents feel ‘highly prepared’ to manage an anticipated surge of disputes
The international tax, audit and assurance firm recorded a 4% year-on-year increase in overall turnover to hit $11bn
Awards
View the official winners of the 2025 Social Impact EMEA Awards
CIT as a proportion of total tax revenue varied considerably across OECD countries, the report also found, with France at 6% and Ireland at 21.5%
Erdem & Erdem’s tax partner tells ITR about female leader inspirations, keeping ahead of the curve, and what makes tax cool
Gift this article