COVID-19: European Commission’s Big Plan
The European Commission released a communication on 27 May 2020, setting its plan for recovery in Europe. This includes:
- Proposing a new €750 billion recovery instrument, Next Generation EU. This would be initially funded through unprecedented borrowing on the part of the Commission. To repay this debt between 2028 and 2058, the Commission has suggested new taxes may be levied on:
- Carbon emissions
- The operation of large companies
- Digital economy
- Non-recycled plastics
- A review by the Commission of the EU competition framework. Notably, in the communication, the Commission emphasises the importance placed by its recently announced Digital Services Act on a ‘fair marketplace’ for the provision of digital services.
- Increased efforts in the tackling tax fraud. As part of this, the Commission suggests that a common consolidated corporation tax base would assist by providing a single rulebook in computing corporation tax across the EU.
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The End is Nigh for the Non-Dom Regime
Published in ThoughtLeaders4 Private Client Magazine, Helen McGhee expert analysis of the current state of non-dom tax regime and it's future.
Increased Investment in Personal Tax Compliance in the UK (Published in Thought Leaders 4 Private Client)
Advances in technology and increased international fiscal co-operation have made global personal tax compliance initiatives pop up in abundance in recent years. To compound the issue, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the corresponding economic fallout prompted domestic governments to increase transparency in relation to investments held by wealthy foreign individuals (with a focus on oligarchs).
In the UK, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis, public opinion certainly seems to be in favour of increased accountability for high-net-worth individuals (eg, on 9 October 2022, 63% of Britons surveyed thought that “the rich are not paying enough and their taxes should be increased”).1
HMRC is one of the most sophisticated tax collection authorities in the world and the department is making significant investments in technology in the field of compliance work; they are well placed to take advantage of new international efforts to increase tax compliance, particularly considering the already extensive network of 130 bilateral tax treaties in the UK (the largest in the world).2 The UK was also a founding member of the OECD’s Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC) forum.
This article discusses the main developments in support of the increased focus on international transparency and personal tax compliance in the UK. There are other international fiscal initiatives, particularly in the field of corporate taxation, but such initiatives are beyond the scope of this article.
It should be noted that a somewhat piecemeal approach, with constant tinkering makes compliance difficult for the taxpayer and is often criticised for lacking the certainty that a stable tax system needs to thrive.
This article was first published with ThoughtLeaders4 Private Client Magazine
