Response to the Consultation on the Tax Deductibility of Corporate Interest Expense

This note is a response to the consultation on the corporate interest expense, published by HM Treasury on October 22, 2015. It reflects the views of the named authors, rather than the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation, which has no corporate views. Our aim is to address the big picture regarding the nature of relief for the cost of finance. We do not offer answers to most of the questions raised in the consultation document, other than perhaps the first, on whether a general interest restriction should be introduced in the UK.