UK could pull out of international corporation tax deal under Truss

Conservative leadership frontrunner Liz Truss could pull the UK out of a deal to set global corporation tax rates at 15%, with two of her most prominent supporters criticising the international agreement. Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg believes the UK should withdraw from the international agreement because it “works against British interests.” He argues that “tax sovereignty is one of the most important policies for any nation,” adding: “If we want to be competitive, pro-growth, and pro-investment, we need to leave this deal and be free to set our own corporation taxes as we wish.” Meanwhile, Simon Clarke, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has argued that “one of the whole rationales for Brexit” was to have competition between countries on things like tax. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Ms Truss’ rival in the Tory leadership race, signed the UK up to the agreement in October 2021, with 136 countries uniting in an attempt to squeeze more tax out of major multinational companies. Corporation tax currently stands at 19% in the UK, but it is due to rise to 25% in April 2023 under a policy introduced when Mr Sunak was Chancellor. Ms Truss has pledged to scrap the increase.

The Sunday Telegraph

Related Post

Reeves urged to abolish the £175,000 residence nil-rate band The Chancellor is facing pressure to eliminate the £175,000 residence nil-rate band in her upcoming Budget. Rachel Reeves previously argued that this allowance, which costs around £2bn annually, primarily benefits the wealthy and now the Resolution Foundation is pushing her to scrap it. In 2011, she stated: “Raising the inheritance tax limit to £1m for […] By Lisa Brownlow, 18 September 2024
Read Now
Small firms responsible for 80% of tax evasion Analysis by the National Audit Office (NAO) shows that small firms are responsible for more than 80% of tax evasion. The report cites HMRC estimates that £5.5bn was lost to deliberate tax evasion in the 2022/23 financial year, with small businesses responsible for 81% of the total. Despite a reduction in the overall tax gap […] By Lisa Brownlow, 16 September 2024
Read Now
Threshold freeze creates 4.4m more taxpayers The number of people paying income tax has increased by 4.4m in three years due to the freeze on thresholds, according to HMRC data. The figures also show that the decision to freeze the personal threshold at £12,570 has pulled an additional 1.77m pensioners into the income tax bracket. There are currently an estimated 37.4m […] By Lisa Brownlow, 3 July 2024
Read Now
↑