The consultation on radical reforms of the way the UK taxes foreign profits has ground to a halt as advisers worry that the moves could cost multi-nationals money, despite Treasury assurances.

‘There was no mention of foreign profits in the pre-Budget report and we are waiting for more concrete proposals. The discussion is hanging in the air,’ said Heather Self at Grant Thornton.

The reforms are the biggest shake-up of multi-national corporate tax of recent years, with plans to stop taxing inbound dividends and changes to interest relief and controlled foreign company rules on the agenda.

The Treasury has maintained that the package of reforms will be revenue neutral, but advisers are adamant that a detailed breakdown is essential to back up this claim.

‘Whether or not it is revenue neutral overall may depend to some extent on the assumptions which have been made,’ PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a briefing note. ‘Overall, it would be premature to seek to move from the discussion phase to a consultation phase on the basis of the material so far.’

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