George Osborne, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the UK will have the lowest corporate tax rate of any Western economy when he announced the tax would fall to 21% by 2014 in his Autumn Statement. In particular, he mentioned Germany, but German tax officials have said they do not expect to lose investors.
David Bradbury, Australia’s assistant treasurer, yesterday announced the members that will make up the country’s new specialist reference group, which is tasked with examining the tax minimisation strategies used by multinationals and “its risks to the sustainability of Australia’s corporate tax base”.
The UK government has released draft legislation for the Finance Bill 2013, marking the start of the consultation period for measures announced in last week’s Autumn Statement. The corporate tax cut – to 21% from April 2014 – was confirmed.
Michael Noonan, Ireland’s Finance Minister, reiterated the country’s commitment to its 12.5% corporate income tax rate last week. The commitment was the headline announcement in the country’s latest austerity budget.
Much-maligned coffee chain Starbucks this morning announced that, “having listened to customers and the British public”, it will pay higher corporation tax in the UK. The company says the payment amount will be higher than what is required by law.
George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, today delivered his Autumn Statement, announcing a surprise extra percentage point cut in the corporate tax rate.
