Business group proposes overhaul of tax regime for financial services sector

12 Oct 2018

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has proposed an overhaul of the tax and regulatory regime for the financial services sector so that the industry can effectively deal with the ‘challenges and opportunities presented by a rapidly changing technological landscape’.

In a new report, the CBI stated that the financial services sector is ‘grappling’ with the challenges of technological change, as well as dealing with ‘shifting tax and regulatory expectations’.

The business group argued that the financial services sector requires regulations that are ‘fit-for-purpose in a new technological age’.

Some of the proposals put forward by the CBI include creating a new Treasury Select Committee sub-committee for financial services, in order to ‘scrutinise regulations and taxes’; strengthening engagement with the Financial Stability Board; and establishing a cross-sector financial services technology ‘hub’, supported by both the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to share best practice, knowledge and the latest technologies.

Commenting on the report, the CBI’s Head of Financial Services, Flora Hamilton, said: ‘The challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid pace and tremendous scale of technological change come in equal measures for financial services firms. To fully embrace this change, firms are clear that they need the right regulatory and tax framework in which to operate, so they can innovate and grow.’