Last week ONTIER UK, together with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the UK and AFEX, organised a breakfast-conference to assess the potential challenges brought by Brexit for companies settling, settled or planning on leaving the country. ONTIER's tax lawyer Deepash Patel taught a conference in the event.
In the second session of our Brexit series, Deepash Patel explored possible tax implications for business as a consequence of the UK leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union. 'Although the taxation of repatriated profits and cross-border royalty and interest payments may be affected by Brexit, it was likely that trade tariffs and Customs Duties would be most significantly impacted and may considerably increase the cost of international trade', he said.
Deepash Patel also explained that 'the Chancellor of the Exchequer has already considered negating the adverse economic impact of Brexit by further lowering corporate taxes and introducing a new system of tax incentives, grants and subsidies to develop regional business, promote growth sectors and attract new overseas investment into the UK'. However, he said, there are concerns on the continent that this dramatic shift in UK policy might lead to a 'race to the bottom' approach to taxation which could be damaging to both the UK and the EU. At the end of the conference, Deepash Patel concluded by saying that 'the tax landscape is also likely to change across the EU with the potential introduction of an EU consolidated common tax base'. Regarding this matter, Deepash Patel emphasized that business owners are encouraged to examine whether a harmonised EU system of taxation would present a more preferable environment in which to develop and grow their business than a UK tax regime offering low tax rates and incentives.
To complement the panel AFEX, a trusted global payment and risk management solutions specialist operating in over 200 countries, joined the session and offered their insights on currency exchange, international transactions and potential implications for businesses. It was a successful event. 25 representatives of companies based in UK and public institutions such as ICEX made it.
