Tax system is making UK attractive place to do business, KPMG claims

THE UK’S stable tax regime and its work towards greater tax transparency have made it one of the most attractive places to do business for foreign investors, according to KPMG research.

Over 100 of the largest UK listed companies and foreign owned subsidiaries participated in KPMG’s annual review of the UK’s tax regime, and a majority of companies cited Britain as being in their top three most competitive tax regimes.

The UK came second to Ireland, which has a 12.5% corporation tax rate, much lower than the UK’s 20%. Holland also scored high with respondents, but Switzerland and Luxembourg lost ground in the rankings.

Respondents cited Britain’s ‘political stability’ as one of its most attractive factors for investment, but they have also been supportive of the UK’s involvement with the OECD and its BEPS initiative.

According to the survey, this year, more than one-third of UK companies indicated they have increased their tax transparency over the last 12 months, and almost half believe they will become more transparent in future.

Robin Walduck, tax partner at KPMG, commented: “When we first published this survey a decade ago the attractiveness of the UK’s tax regime was in question as a number of high-profile companies had announced plans to relocate business activities out of the UK.

“The dial has moved since then with the number of companies looking to relocate falling sharply. Now, the UK is generally seen as an attractive place to live, work and do business and has shown a renewed ability to attract and retain some of the world’s most valuable companies.”