The market for corporate tax knowledge

Abstract

Wales. We especially thank Lynne Oats and two anonymous reviewers as well as conference and workshop participants for their constructive comments. We also gratefully acknowledge financial assistance from the ACCA. We are particularly grateful to the interview participants. 2The Market for Corporate Tax Knowledge Abstract A growing international literature advocates the importance of trust and co-operation in tax administration compared to the more traditional 'adversarial' approach. Yet, the global financial crisis has led to renewed interest in corporate tax planning and 'unacceptable' tax avoidance with a focus on the role of intermediaries such as accounting firms. This paper explores how developments in tax legislation are captured by companies and incorporated into their tax knowledge. We draw on prior literature in knowledge management, the role of accounting firms and tax administration and use a qualitative approach to investigate and describe the relationships between accounting firms, corporate taxpayers and revenue authorities, specifically the UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Our results show that these relationships can be described in the context of a tax knowledge market comprised of a knowledge seller, knowledge brokers, and knowledge buyers. Our findings have relevance not only for all three parties, in particular for the challenges facing knowledge brokers -but also to tax agencies and international organisations, who must strike the optimal balance between co-operative tax administration and traditional approaches buttressed by tax audit enforcement.

Motives of Establishing of New Onshore and Offshore Companies by the Slovak Enterprises in 2014

“…Dizajn výskumu bol zameraný hlavne na poradenské spoločnosti, pretože predpokladáme, že hlavne malé a stredné podniky sú v tejto oblasti odkázané na nákup sofi stikovaných služieb a informácií. Veľké medzinárodné korporácie majú zvyčajne daňové oddelenia, ale i napriek tomu často nakupujú služby v tejto oblasti od poradenských spoločností (Sikka, Hampton, 2005;Hasseldine, Holland a Rijt, 2011). Náš prístup je podobný s výskumami, ktoré realizoval napr.…”

Knowledge mandates in the state–profession dynamic: A study of the British insolvency profession

“…Whilst prior studies of the accounting profession have addressed accounting regulations (Cooper and Robson, 2006), the audit function (Carpenter and Dirsmith, 1993;Power, 1997) (including auditor independence (Robson et al, 1994) and the internal audit market (Covaleski et al, 2003) and more recently, the market for corporate taxation (Hasseldine et al, 2011), there is a dearth of research on the insolvency field (see Walker, 1995;Halliday and Carruthers, 1996;Walker, 2004aWalker, , 2004bCooper and Joyce, 2013). Accordingly, the empirical focus of this paper is upon the British insolvency profession.…”

“…New legal knowledge may also be generated through the articulation of case law (Morris and Empson, 1998, p615). Finally, the field is shaped by the insolvency profession itself, through the development of best practice standards 6 , codes of ethics and significantly through the professionals' interpretation of the legislation as knowledge brokers within a knowledge market (Hasseldine et al, 2011).…”

Boundary work and tax regulation: A Bourdieusian view

“…The process of answering these questions is influenced by a host of actors including expert practitioners, lobby groups and professional associations. Thus the nature, frequency and positioning of tax boundaries within and around the field emerges as a body of tax law that is socially negotiated and constructed; although sometimes misrecognised as stable codified knowledge (Burton, 2007;Hasseldine et al, 2011;Morris & Empson, 1998). In this paper, we use the term 'tax law' as extending beyond the legislative provisions to encompass the practices through which the legislation is put into play by various actors, including professionals and the courts.…”