Phenix at a glance

Change Management

Indirect tax compliance and process improvement

Indirect tax compliance and process improvement

UK Tax administration: large businesses transparency strategy

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is committed to dealing with all customers fairly and efficiently while making sure that the correct tax is paid to the Exchequer. HMRCʹs Large Business Directorate manages the largest 2,000 or so businesses using a risk based approach. This is due to their size and complexity, the tax at stake, and the consequent risk they present to the Exchequer.

This measure seeks to encourage tax transparency and compliance across all large businesses. To achieve this, we are introducing the requirement for qualifying large businesses to publish their tax strategy in relation to UK taxation.

This legislation will includes details of the tax strategies required to be published by such large business together with details of where and when publication is required and details of penalties for non‐compliance.

General description of the measure

The measure will introduce a legislative requirement for all large businesses to publish an annual tax strategy, in so far as it relates to UK activities, approved by the Business’s Executive Board.

The strategy will cover 4 areas:

• the approach of the UK group to risk management and governance arrangements in relation to UK taxation
• the attitude of the group towards tax planning (so far as affecting UK taxation)
• the level of risk in relation to UK taxation that the group is prepared to accept
• the approach of the group towards its dealings with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

Non-publication of an identifiable tax strategy or incomplete content based on the 4 areas outlined above could lead to a financial penalty. This penalty will be subject to the usual HMRC appeals process.

Who is likely to be affected

Around 2,000 largest businesses in the UK.

Policy objective

The publication of tax strategies will ensure greater transparency around a business’s approach to tax to HMRC, shareholders and consumers. And board level oversight of those strategies will embed tax strategy in existing corporate governance processes. Taken together this should drive behaviour change around tax planning and therefore enhance tax compliance.

Proposed revisions

Legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2016 to require qualifying large businesses or qualifying groups to publish a tax strategy, in relation to UK taxation, on the internet.

The legislation sets out the content required for inclusion in the tax strategy.

The strategy will need to remain accessible until the next update to the strategy, typically on an annual basis. A penalty may be chargeable either for the non-publication of a tax strategy or if the information contained within the published strategy does not meet the requirements of the legislation.

Monitoring and evaluation

This measure will form part of HMRCs business risk review processes and implementation and impact will be measured within the internal governance and risk management processes within Large Business Directorate.

• Draft clause 65
• Draft explanatory notes clause 65

Interim VAT Management

Are you looking for a seasoned professional? 
Do you need to manage a project about to start? 
Are you facing a temporary shortage of resources?

Interim management is most helpful where a specific project is run where the interim manager can independently focus its time and is particularly helpful when resources are needed to meet specific deadlines.

As part of our interim management services, we make our highly qualified and experienced professionals available to you with a schedule tailored to your needs. We have extensive experience serving senior roles in a variety of industries and organizations.

We are best fit to develop and implement short term action plans and provide the opportunity to implement long term strategic and operational solutions.

Benefits of our interim management service

• We will bring you the best experts who create value from day one
• We have wide-ranging industry experience
• We will charge you by the hour for the time we spend working on your assignment
• Flexible working hours
• Our interim managers have completed several challenging assignments, bring with them a high technical and operational background, great work ethic and motivation
• They can look tax and accounting processes from the outside
• They work responsibly, diligently and efficiently

We not only develop but also implement solutions

VAT reporting

Business challenges

• Businesses may not have a VAT person and need someone to manage their compliance, or
• they do have one, but he or she is busy with other priorities and they need someone to manage the day to day issues

What we offer

• Plug short term gaps with experienced staff at short notice. Our staff can be hired as secondees on a temporary basis to plug gaps in the compliance work
• We could do the in-house housekeeping for you; completing VAT returns, European sales lists and Intrastat reporting
• Either on a part-time basis, for a few days a week, full-time for a certain period (e.g. six months) or permanently

For questions please contact us.

A senior team with additional experience and talent

Business challenges

There could be various reasons why more senior level support is needed:

• The company faces strategic, operational or IT challenges and needs to adapt fast
  • The business has as key objective to get through the acquisition in one piece, to get all of its tax filings done correctly on time and then to build a new supply chain and IT system to support the new operating model and at this stage does not have a full-time indirect tax function
• The indirect tax function is temporary not available (maternity leave, faces conflicting priorities, etc.)

What we offer

• Bring in our senior VAT/IT team:
  • Proven industry and consultancy leaders
  • Strong technical tax and IT expertise
  • Proven project and change management (soft) skills
• To run a project
• To run an effective tax team with the practical knowledge and fresh perspective to help quickly plan and then implement a comprehensive and sustainable plan
• To support in recruiting our replacements (global head of indirect tax, VAT manager) to realize that a client builds up its own department
  • We then gradually will leave our roles and support the new tax function in the transition to become successful

For questions please contact us.