Henderson may shift tax domicile to Republic

UK ASSET manager the Henderson Group is considering a relocation of its tax domicile from the UK to Ireland in what would be a major setback for the UK’s financial services sector.

The firm, which is headquartered in London and is one of Europe’s largest investment managers, with £59.2 billion (€74.4 billion) in assets under management and 900 employees worldwide, yesterday confirmed that it was considering a potential change in its tax domicile from the UK to Ireland. It is expected to further disclose its intentions with regards to the move in its interim results, which it will publish today.

The obvious attraction for the asset manager in moving its tax domicile to Ireland is the much lower corporation tax rate of 12.5 per cent. Although the UK reduced its corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 28 per cent in April of this year, it has not stemmed the flow of UK companies crossing the Irish Sea to lower their tax liabilities. Already this year a number of UK-based companies, including pharmaceutical firm Shire and global media group United Business Media, have announced their intention to move their tax bases to Ireland, while many more are understood to be considering such a move.