Large British companies and foreign businesses that pay U.K. taxes are suddenly facing a big increase in their tax compliance costs, thanks to a surprise proposal announced in the government’s recent budget.
The plan is to make a company’s senior accounting officer—typically the CFO—personally responsible for the adequacy of the company’s tax systems. An “SAO” who fails to ensure the right tax controls are in place will be hit with a penalty of up to $7,500.
The government says the move simply reinforces existing obligations to take due care when filing returns, and the compliance cost would be “negligible” for companies with ...