As Accountancy Age has reported:
A 49% uptick in the amount of extra tax collected from investigations into large corporates shifting profits overseas is an indicator that HMRC is ramping up its scrutiny multi-national tax avoidance arrangements, according to specialist law firm Pinsent Masons.
“HMRC is now much more aggressive in tackling what it sees as artificial profit shifting, and much more stringent in its interpretation of what makes an acceptable transfer pricing arrangement,” said Steven Porter, partner and head of tax disputes and investigations at Pinsent Masons.
According to new figures from the 2020/21 tax year, the amount of extra tax collected from transfer pricing investigations into multinational corporates increased from £1.45bn to £2.16bn – HMRC's highest yield on record.
So, why the uptick? Because country-by-country reporting data is available, of course. I first created country-by-country reporting in 2003. I campaigned pretty tirelessly for it from then until 2015 when the OECD adopted it, very largely as I first proposed it. The aim was to beat transfer mispricing. It is.
I should ask for a cut (that's a joke, by the way).
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This really matters for all sorts of reasons. No doubting the fact that you were instrumental in this change. Well done.
Congratulations on your persistence and credibility over the years, it has certainly paid off.
What Bill and Clive said with bells on – well done.
Well, every little helps, as they say, but is the difference really only £700 million? UK corporation tax has raised, what, £40 billion or more each year for a decade or more.
Excellent. It also draws attention to what can be done about tax avoidance, if HMRC possesses a few suitable tools; and it would be better still if it was resourced to carry out its task. Here is how British tax avoidance really works. British governments starve the monitoring and investigative resource of funds and qualified staff in order to ensure corporate tax raising fails to deliver the appropriate returns; critically in political terms – without anyone noticing the Government is undermining its own policies. That is how neoliberalism is made to work, no matter what.
Congratulations.
You do deserve a cut although I agree that you probably shouldn’t ask for one.
Hopefully when Scotland becomes independent we’ll be able to consult with you on this kind of thing.
Yes, Simon. Many are hoping to get Scotland off on the right (correct) foot on day one after independence.
It’s tragic and ridiculous that you should have to say JOKE to avoid pointless comments from humourless saddoes but that is the world we live in.
How does this 49% increase compare to your estimates of how much this would raise? Do you think there is much more to find?
I never offered such an estimate
I suspect the yield will still grow
Thanks!