Tax transparency and the era of automatic information
exchange.
Tax transparency is one of the 'hot topics' of the
moment. The tax policy of large corporates has come under
increasing scrutiny from a public and media that demand companies
pay 'their fair share'. Individuals have been pilloried in
the press for the way their tax affairs have been structured.
Much of the debate has been ill-informed but whether or not the
tax technical matters debated are properly understood is arguably
irrelevant. What really matters is the environment generated by the
debate and how politicians react to it. And clearly tax advisers
need to be wary of the wider mood. Des Hudson, former chief
executive of the Law Society and current chairman of the Taxation
Disciplinary Board recently stated that there's a disconnect
between the tax profession and what society demands on tax
behaviour.
