UK: bank governance and the spirit of tax law

HM Treasury has published a list of the 15 banks which have signed up to the Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks: see here. The Code - available here (see Annex A, pdf) - has a section on governance which states that the bank "... should have a documented strategy and governance process for taxation matters encompassed within a formal policy. Accountability for this policy should rest with the UK board of directors or, for foreign banks, a senior accountable person in the UK". In the Code's overview it is explained: "The Government expects that banking groups, their subsidiaries, and their branches operating in the UK, will comply with the spirit, as well as the letter, of tax law, discerning and following the intentions of Parliament".