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Company bosses are highly doubtful about the business benefits of the UK tax system, which they regard as the area of Government legislation most open to improvement.
Ninety-one percent of CEOs do not believe that the UK regulatory burden has decreased, despite signs from the Treasury that it is committed to simplifying the tax system, according to new figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
A survey by the financial services giant found that 66% of chief executives are unlikely to endorse Government attempts to make the UK business-friendly.
And almost half — 45% - believe ministers are aggressively changing tax rules to raise additional revenues.
Meanwhile, only a quarter of CEOs believe ministers should drive the convergence of global tax and regulatory systems — making them more greatly opposed to the harmonisation of critical elements of the regulatory regime than any of their overseas counterparts.
PwC's UK head of tax, Richard Collier-Keywood, said: 'It is not surprising that UK CEOs want to maintain some sovereignty in the tax system.
'Clearly they are wary of convergence of international tax systems, no doubt fearing this would lead to more complexity, uncertainty and time being spent on dealing with red tape.
Mr Collier-Keywood added: 'With today's business operating across multiple tax jurisdictions there needs to be a consistent approach by tax authorities that does not hinder the competitiveness of countries.
'Collaboration both among governments, and between business and government, is essential to ensure that the tax and regulatory framework is fit for purpose.
'Business can also help this process by being more transparent about all of the taxes that it is required to pay.'
