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Grant Thornton has become the latest body to attack the UK corporate tax regime, saying it is damaging competitiveness and strangling inward investment opportunities for big business.
The financial advice company's outburst was in reaction to the news that Shire, the UK's third-largest pharmaceutical group, is to move offshore to reduce its tax commitments.
Last month, the CBI called for an overhaul of the country's corporate tax system and argued that is unsustainable in the long-term because of its failure to respond to increasingly global business activity.
Ruth Dooley, a corporate tax partner at Grant Thornton, said she hoped Shire's move will compel the Chancellor to look at ways to slim down the 'bloated corporate tax burden' on UK companies and make the country more business friendly.
She added that while other countries, such as Ireland, have responded to the challenge of competition by bringing down corporate tax rates in order to attract business, the UK has not.
'Corporates (sic) were not at the top of Gordon Brown's priorities when he was Chancellor,' said Ms Dooley, 'and it seems that [Alistair Darling] is intent on continuing the trend.
'But perhaps Shire's move will kick start the Government into action and give business and future business leaders some compelling reasons to stay… in the UK, rather than to regulate them out of existence or send them packing to other more tax-friendly jurisdictions'.
She continued: 'Tax rates have a part to play in maintaining that edge to draw in growth businesses from both the UK and overseas. To compromise that with more tax hikes or greater regulation would be to compromise the UK's competitiveness.
'The Government has to recognise that by attracting more businesses to the UK, the tax revenues will rise, and HMRC has to identify and rectify anomalies in legislation and business - and their advisers need to engage more fully in the debate.'
