Membership of multinational forum on tax

The membership of a new multinational forum on tax was announced today by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling and Financial Secretary, Jane Kennedy.

The group, to be chaired by Jane Kennedy, includes senior representatives of multinational companies as well as a number of senior economists.

It will discuss ways in which the tax system can provide the long-term certainty that multinational companies need in the face of increased competitiveness and other global challenges facing both business and government.

Membership of the group will comprise:

Richard Lambert, Confederation of British Industry
Douglas Flint, HSBC Holdings plc
Julian Heslop, GlaxoSmithKline plc
Hanif Lalani, BT Group plc
James Lawrence, Unilever plc
Andrew Shilston, Rolls-Royce Group plc
Dr Byron Grote, BP plc
Nicolas Moreau, Axa (UK) plc
Duncan Tatton-Brown, Kingfisher plc.

To ensure the group is able to draw on the best evidence and analysis, the Chancellor has also invited four economists to become forum members. These are:

Dr Andrew Mclaughlin, Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Professor Michael Devereux, Said Business School, Oxford;
Adam Lent, Trades Union Congress; and
Dr Parthasarathi Shome, HM Revenue & Customs

Notes for editors

1. In his speech to a Chatham House conference on "New Financial Frontiers" on 29 April 2008 (see Press Notice 42/08), the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government would establish a new forum to examine ways in which the tax system can provide the long-term certainty multinational companies need, considering the competitiveness and other challenges facing both business and government.

2. The nine representatives people are Chief Financial Officers, except for Nicolas Moreau, who is Chief Executive Officer of Axa (UK) plc, and Richard Lambert, who is the Director General of the CBI.

3. Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Correspondence and Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558 or by e-mail to public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk.

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