Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to evaluate the ideas on dealing with corporate international tax avoidance developed by Professor Gabriel Zucman in his book <i>The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens</i>.

The Government considers material from a range of sources as part of the normal policy making process. Professor Gabriel Zucman’s book points out that tax avoidance by large corporations can be stopped, and the UK is addressing this issue through the G20 and OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. We recognise that the global issue of tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning requires a coordinated approach to come up with effective solutions. This is why the UK is at the forefront of multilateral action through the BEPS project to ensure profits are taxed where economic activities are performed.

The first phase of the BEPS project was delivered in 2014, and the UK was the first adopter of the 2014 recommendations, by legislating for the internationally agreed country-by-country reporting template; and consulting on implementing the OECD agreed rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements.

The final recommendations from the BEPS project were endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers at their meeting in Lima on 8 October. The project represents major and unprecedented efforts involving over 60 countries to clamp down on aggressive tax planning.

The Government is committed to countering tax avoidance to ensure all tax payers pay their fair share. The UK will give full consideration to the outputs of the BEPS project and we will engage with the OECD’s work on developing a framework for monitoring implementation.