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Following the European Court of Justice's Cadbury Schweppes verdict, Denmark is to change its rules regarding the tax treatment of controlled foreign corporations. The court in Cadbury Schweppes said that EU companies can reduce tax costs by locating subsidiaries in other EU countries with lower levies so long as the company's subsidiaries have employees and business assets. Several member states, including the UK, Germany and Sweden, have more stringent criteria for allowing parent companies with subsidiaries in other EU jurisdictions to benefit from reduced tax levies.

Tax policy was at the centre of the UK Conservative Party's conference, held last week in Bournemouth, a seaside town on England's south coast. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor of the exchequer and David Cameron, the party leader, both said taxes would only be cut if economic stability could be ensured. Last month, the party's Tax Reform Commission, which issues its final report on October 19, said the corporate tax rate should fall by five percentage points to 25%.

Chris Spooner, the bank's tax head, said at a Chartered Institute of Taxation conference that HSBC was considering relocating from its London headquarters because of the complexity and cost of the UK regime. But a spokesperson for HSBC told Reuters, a news agency, that the bank was going to stay in the UK.

The European Court of Justice has contradicted two advocate generals' opinions by ruling that Italy's IRAP tax, a regional levy on production, complies with EU law.

New laws allowing advanced rulings took effect on October 2. Submissions for rulings should be sent electronically to the South African Revenue Service from October 16

Mike Boyle, corporate vice president of finance at the world's largest software company and a former president of the Tax Executives Institute, will leave at the end of this month to spend more time with his family. Bill Sample will replace Boyle.

Jim Jooma has joined MRI Moores Rowland, a London-based firm of tax and accounting advisers, as head of tax.

The research, commissioned by the Investment Management Association, found tax complexity was stopping investment funds – especially relatively innovative types of vehicles such as hedge funds – locating in the UK. The research, which involved interviews with 26 investment management groups, said the UK was losing out to Luxembourg and Ireland not because of the tax cost but because of HMRC's attitude and its habit of bringing in legislation at short notice.

John Narducci, a structured finance specialist, has joined Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe New York as a tax partner from White & Case.

The new firm, KPMG Europe, will initially comprise the German and UK member firms. But it is hoped that other European member firms will follow the lead of the two largest European economies. KPMG Europe will be headed by John Griffith-Jones, head of KPMG UK, and Rolf Nonnenmacher, KPMG's German chair. The head office will be in Frankfurt, Germany.