UK and International Tax news
Top 15 Banks Sign Code Of Practice On Taxation
Tuesday 30th November 2010
Following the issue of a consultation document in June 2009 [see UK Tax News item of 30 June 2009], the Government has announced that the top fifteen banks operating in the UK have adopted the Code of Practice on Taxation.
As at 17 October 2010, only four out of the top fifteen banks had adopted the code since its introduction in 2009. HMT therefore asked HMRC to ensure that all the major banks signed up by the end of November 2010.
The top 15 banks that have adopted the code are Bank of America/Merrill, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide Building Society, RBS, Santander, Standard Chartered and UBS.
The code of practice states that
(a) banks should have strong governance around tax, which is integrated into their business decision making,
(b) they should follow the spirit of the law in addition to the letter and may undertake tax planning to support their business operations, but this should not be used to achieve tax results that are contrary to the intentions of Parliament, and
(c) HMRC and the banks should work together to encourage mutually open and transparent relationships.
If you would like further information on the Code Of Practice, please contact Keith Rushen on 0044 (0)20 7486 2378.
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