Philip Hammond: Government Fiscal Policy Tools- Taxation Report Writing Assignment

Internal Code: MAS7443

Taxation Report Writing Assignment:

Task: Tax experts have urged UK chancellor Philip Hammond to “rethink” plans to cut corporation tax to 17 per cent by the end of the decade in order to free up £5bn a year for other spending priorities. When David Cameron became prime minister in 2010, the headline corporation tax rate was 28 per cent. Mr Hammond’s predecessor, George Osborne, repeatedly cut the tax rate to its current level of 19 per cent. In 2016, Mr Osborne announced plans for the rate to drop a further two percentage points, to 17 per cent, in April 2020. In his March Budget this year, Mr Hammond underlined his commitment to reducing the rate further; saying cutting it to 17 per cent would send the “clearest possible signal that Britain is open for business”. Source: (Financial Times 17 November 2017, by Jim Pickard, Vanessa Houlder and Madison Marriage) Required: A. Discuss current developments in corporation tax and role of corporation tax as Government fiscal policy tools in the UK. B. Critically evaluate and analyse any ethical and strategic tax issues faced by companies in the UK. C. Discuss how the charge to UK Corporation Tax applies to a non - UK resident companies compared to a UK resident companies and how the expected trading losses of Uk overseas operation will be relieved in the UK.