Businesses express concerns over tax rules

Date: 12th September 2008

Businesses in the UK are concerned that the country's tax regime could be damaging their competitiveness, one industry expert has said.

Revealing a seven per cent rise in turnover, PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC) UK chairman, Ian Powell, stressed that businesses across the country have expressed worries about the current taxation regime and its impact on their operations.

He said that uncertainty over any future rule changes was denting business confidence.

"In terms of the wider outlook, we share our clients' concerns over the risks to the continued competitiveness of the UK economy," Mr Powell explained.

"The quantity and scope of regulation combined with the level of uncertainty and complexity in this country's tax system are particular causes of concern, and remain at the top of the agenda for leading UK-based businesses."

Recently, RSM Bentley Jennison partner Pamela Greener told the Yorkshire Post that current "double taxation" rules on foreign profits were of particular concern to many UK businesses.

She said: "This actually affects the ability of small companies to become medium companies to become large companies."