The relationship between accounting and taxation: The United Kingdom

The relationship between accounting and taxation in the United Kingdom is explored in this article. The first section considers historical reasons for the relative independence of contemporary calculations of accounting profits and taxable profits. Despite the formal independence of important aspects of the calculation regimes, effective interdependence of practice is a feature of the United Kingdom's tax and accounting histories. The second section outlines the current law and practice governing the recognition of taxable profits, and reviews the financial reporting standards and practices that have been developed to deal with tax/accounting differences. Finally, recent developments in financial report-ing and taxation are identified that are likely to have an impact on the character of the relationship between tax and accounting in the future.