For many large businesses and partnerships, publishing a UK tax strategy is now a requirement. This may sound straightforward but, in reality, publishing your strategy can be just the 'tip of the iceberg'. Given the likely need for Board approval it can be a challenging process and may involve financial and reputational risk if the organisation gets it wrong. There are also penalties for not publishing the UK tax strategy correctly and on time.

Experience tells us that publishing your UK tax strategy requires an organisational response and that you need to feel confident that the statement stands up to the scrutiny of both your internal and external stakeholders. You also need to balance what is required of a UK statement in the context of a global approach to tax and its visibility to taxing authorities around the world.

About 2,000 businesses will be required to publish a UK tax strategy

Last December the government published significant new tax governance requirements which apply to about 2,000 larger entities (those with turnover in excess of £200 million or with balance sheet total in excess of £2 billion). It also applies to UK registered companies and branches with turnover of less than £200 million which form part of a larger multinational group. The package of measures came into force on 15 September 2016, when the Finance Act received Royal Assent. It includes a new requirement that large businesses publish their tax strategies online as they relate to or affect UK taxation. The new requirement also affects Deloitte and we have now published our UK tax strategy statement.

Preparing for publication of your UK tax strategy

At Deloitte we can help your business prepare the statement itself and, more importantly, get under the surface with you to help you understand the governance and controls you will need to consider putting in place to help you feel confident that no tax risks or missed opportunities arise that could undermine your strategy.

We can help facilitate board level discussion and conversation so that the amount of investment needed to navigate the challenges ahead is understood and supported.

So that when you come to publish, you and the Board are confident that you've got it right.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.