Corporate taxes

We analyse a puzzle in the UK corporation tax: by both historic and international standards corporation tax revenues have been high while the statutory rate has been low.

This paper examines the corporation tax forecasting techniques used by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

In August 2003 the government issued a further consultation document on reform to the corporation tax system.This consultation continues a process that started in July 2001 with a consultation document on large business taxation, and which appears to have become an annual exercise. This Briefing Note points out that this annual round of reform proposals does little to promote a stable environment for business investment decisions. New proposals on transfer pricing and finance leasing will add to business costs.

Tax competition is a phenomenon that has been given much attention recently, both in the media and in academic debate.

This paper analyses the development of taxes on corporate income in EU and G7 countries over the last two decades.

In August 2002, the government issued a consultation document on further reform to the corporation tax system. Although the consultation addresses three topics capital assets, the schedular system and the distinction between trading and investment companies the major issues revolve around the treatment of assets and losses. This response focuses on these larger issues. It aims to explain the main proposals contained in the consultation, to provide some empirical evidence on the scale of possible changes and to make some comments on the wider policy issues that these proposals raise. At this stage of the consultation process, we retain an open mind on the merits of any final reform package, not least because there is a wide range of alternative packages.

In this commentary, the authors examine the effect of stamp duty on the stock market, on business investment and on merger and acquisition activity. They consider possible threats to the long-run sustainability of stamp duty revenues. The commentary goes on to assess the potential revenue implications of abolition for the government and to examine various means by which the revenues could be recouped. Each of these involves its own potential economic distortions and possible additional administrative costs.

Following the 2002 Budget, this Briefing Note examines some of the Chancellor's changes to business taxation. A number of Budget measures, including the research and development tax credit for large companies and the exemption of capital gains on the sale of subsidiaries, are welcome and should improve the efficiency of the UK's tax system. All of these measures were subject to extensive prior consultation. A number of other measures were not foreshadowed in the Pre-Budget Report. Three of these are examined here - the new 0% rate of corporation tax, the changes to North Sea taxation and the new anti-avoidance measures for stamp duty.

We consider the impact of taxation when investors face a discrete choice between two or more mutually exclusive projects.

Election 2001: Business taxes under Labour

In this report, the Committee considers the issue of tax equity between the employed and self-employed. This complex topic raises many questions, one of which relates to the way in which the tax system classifies workers. Do changing work patterns indicate the need for a new approach to classification for tax purposes? Is the case law that currently governs the area sufficiently robust and clear, especially in the light of the new burden placed upon it by the so-called IR35 legislation on personal service companies? What is the relation between classification of workers for taxation and their classification in other areas of law, particularly employment law? These are some of the issues addressed in this paper.

This paper examines how capital tax competition affects jurisdiction formation.

This report aims to shed some light on the complex issues that surround this debate. Topics addressed include recent trends in corporate tax systems, costs imposed by having diverse national corporate taxes within Europe, proposals for limited co-ordination of corporate income taxes within the EU and more ambitious options for corporate tax harmonisation.

This paper examines the impact of fiscal incentives on the level of R&D investment.

After a break of a few years, the European Union has recently again become active in the area of co-ordinating capital income taxes between Member States.

This report looks at how corporate income taxes have changed over the past two decades, what incentives they provide for domestic and international investment, and whether changes in the international economy have helped shape these reforms.

This paper analyses the windfall tax on the privatised utilities, introduced in the 1997 Budget.