Tax and business rates advisory

Tax advisory

Our team of tax policy experts and economists are specialists in the important role that high-quality economic analysis plays in the policymaking process. We advise clients on a wide range of tax policy issues in different jurisdictions, helping them to identify risks and opportunities and use the best possible evidence to engage with policymaking processes.

How we help clients

By combining deep technical knowledge of tax policy matters with a strong understanding of economics and political context, we work with clients to

01

Help identify and respond to emerging tax policy
opportunities and risks

02

Deliver Treasury-style analysis of different tax policy issues and their commercial impact

03

Build the evidence base through market-leading economic analysis

04

Support high-impact engagement with policymakers using arguments that will resonate

Our offer

Policy and political analysis

Geopolitics advisory

Legislative strategy

Removing trade barriers

We help businesses anticipate, interpret and respond to developments in UK, EU and Asia-Pacific policy and politics.

We apply our geopolitical analysis to the challenges faced by our clients, helping them identify risks and opportunities, make informed decisions and engage effectively with governments.

We draw on our government, parliamentary and regulatory expertise to help clients understand, engage with and shape commercially relevant legislation.

We enable our clients to navigate an increasingly complex global trading environment, helping them identify risks and opportunities to achieve their commercial objective.

Our approach

On tax policy matters, we help clients across different sectors to understand their needs and secure the best possible commercial outcomes through market-leading policy and economic analysis.

Responding to policy change

We support clients in responding to new tax policy announcements, including delivering high-impact consultation responses and targeted engagement strategies.

Future-facing reform

We work with clients to understand the fiscal landscape and plan for future policy change. This includes helping them to develop an internal policy position on specific tax issues and to take forward an effective strategy.

Building the evidence base

We support clients in identifying and filling evidence gaps through robust, independent and highly expert economic modelling and analysis. As well as underpinning advocacy efforts, our findings can be packaged as a public-facing report.

Robust economics

We consider, from a robust economic standpoint, the effect on market structure and policy outcomes of different tax structures and/or tax bases, working with clients to understand the impact of tax on their markets.

Sectors where we can help

We serve a range of clients operating in many sectors where public policy and regulation is a significant factor in planning and strategic decision-making. We offer external challenge, additional bandwidth and practical support. As a global firm, we draw on and integrate the experience of our teams across the word.

Transport

Water

Energy

Financial Services

Food, drink and farming

Health and Life Sciences

Manufacturing and industry

Media, entertainment and sport

We help companies, investors, and sector bodies navigate fast-changing and complex transport policy and regulation.

Flint advises transport clients on managing risks and seizing opportunity from structural sector reform, decarbonisation, transport funding and finances, and regulation of new modes of transport. Our team has worked within transport authorities, at the highest levels of politics and policy, and at regulators. We advise organisations in the sector on making their voice heard, by crafting commercially informed policy propositions that also benefit consumers and the Exchequer. We advise investors on medium-to long-term trends, likely policy trajectories, political interest in national to local transport infrastructure and risks to transactions.

Flint helps companies and investors navigate the UK water sector, and the complex – and evolving – political, policy and regulatory environment in which it operates.

We advise regulated water companies and major institutional investors on their strategic and investment decisions. Our team brings together experts from regulators, government and industry; we draw on our deep understanding of how the sector is run, regulated and governed, as well as the wider political context. Our coverage is broad: we advise on price controls and redeterminations, on policy development within central government, on regulatory developments and reform within Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and on engagement with politicians, policy-makers, regulators and other stakeholders.

Flint supports companies at the heart of the energy transition to navigate the rapidly changing policy and regulatory environment that impacts investment and commercial plans.

Our specialist team comes from the most senior levels of energy regulation and policy. We use our unique insight and understanding of how policy and regulation will evolve to advise generators, network companies, retailers, and investors on how to positively shape the policy debate and manage regulatory risk.

Flint helps financial services institutions, from established players to growing fintechs, navigate an ever-more complex regulatory and policy landscape and understand the broader political context in which these events take place.

Our team brings together expertise from senior levels of UK, European and Asian financial institutions, regulators and government, to provide advice and insight across the financial services landscape. We combine deep technical knowledge with first-hand experience of policy and regulatory decision-making, to help businesses and investors anticipate and manage developments and take strategic decisions to achieve successful commercial outcomes. Our advice is candid, rigorous and constructive.

Flint helps food, drink and farming clients navigate the changing regulatory and policy landscape to achieve their commercial goals.

The food, drink and farming policy and regulatory environment is continuously evolving affecting businesses that operate in the UK, EU and beyond. Companies need to identify and mitigate potential risks and ensure they capitalise on opportunities in the developing nutritional and agricultural landscape.

Using Flint’s wide ranging expertise and knowledge, we help our clients develop their commercial strategies and engage with government to influence the future direction of the sector for their benefit.

Changes in health policy and regulation pose both commercial opportunities and risks.

We help major corporates, investors and portfolio companies anticipate, interpret and respond to opportunities from changes in health policy, regulation and politics to deliver improved commercial outcomes. Our team brings together expertise from senior levels of UK and European ministries, public health bodies, competition authorities, and regulators. What differentiates us is our cross-disciplinary expertise that provides us with a sophisticated understanding of the interdependencies of health and care policy with the wider political system; a forensic focus on driving commercial outcomes, and a proven track record in the sector.

We help advanced manufacturers to navigate a fast moving regulatory and policy landscape, to anticipate and manage domestic and geopolitical risk, and to take advantage of opportunities, for example in new technologies, trade, investment.

We apply our extensive experience working in industrial policy within government, and serving clients across many advanced manufacturing segments (such as auto, aero, and energy) to help our clients anticipate, interpret and respond to political, policy and regulatory developments relevant to their commercial aims. We work with them to ensure their strategies, priorities and activities take account of these external changes, and we help businesses to bring together the arguments and evidence they can use to shape debate in the political and policy sphere. Supporting them on the who and how of effective engagement; whether the aim is to shape regulatory debate, secure support and funding for a major initiative, or to improve their profile in the policy making arena.

Flint works with major players in the media, sports and entertainment sectors to provide strategic advice at a time where policy and regulation is seeking to adapt to rapid developments in technology and societal expectations.

We help major companies and institutions deliver improved commercial outcomes by anticipating, interpreting and responding to opportunities and risks created by change in policy, regulation and politics. Our expert team comes from the highest levels of government and regulators and has built and implemented policy and regulatory frameworks that shape how we share information and consume entertainment and sport. We combine policy and regulatory experience in news, broadcasting, social media and sports regulation with political, legislative and commercial insight to help our clients deliver positive outcomes.

Our Experts

Business rates advisory

Business rates typically account for around 10% of the operational cost of most utilities and are usually one of the top five cash costs. Rates are sometimes regarded as an “uncontrollable” cost.

We have a dedicated team of business rates experts who help clients argue for consistent regulatory and tax treatment of their infrastructure assets using a mix of economic, financial and regulatory expertise. We have unparalleled experience in helping clients make
the case for appropriate valuation to the relevant authorities and a strong track record of helping clients secure more accurate treatment.

We analyse data sources from across the client company, not only financial but also operational and physical. We adopt forensic techniques and conduct in-depth analysis to identify the most robust data to analyse, and then we collate our analysis and help clients present the findings to tax authorities.

Sectors where we can help

We serve a range of clients operating in many sectors where public policy and regulation is a significant factor in planning and strategic decision-making. We offer external challenge, additional bandwidth and practical support. As a global firm, we draw on and integrate the experience of our teams across the word.

Defence

Energy

Financial services

Food, drink and farming

Health and life sciences

Manufacturing and industry

Media, entertainment and sport

Technology

Telecommunications

Transport

Water

We work with companies and investors in the defence sector, providing strategic advice on the political and policy environment. We support defence firms of all sizes across multiple technology segments and jurisdictions to navigate complex policy, geopolitical and regulatory issues. We also help investors understand defence policy and regulatory impacts which affect their portfolios, including by offering deep expertise of defence policy and related policy areas, providing insights, and conducting company and market due diligence.

Learn more

We support companies at the heart of the energy transition to navigate the rapidly changing policy and regulatory environment that impacts investment and commercial plans.

Our specialist team comes from the most senior levels of energy regulation and policy. We use our unique insight and understanding of how policy and regulation will evolve to advise generators, network companies, retailers, and investors on how to positively shape the policy debate and manage regulatory risk.

Learn more

We help financial services institutions, from established players to growing fintechs, navigate an ever-more complex regulatory and policy landscape and understand the broader political context in which these events take place.

Our team brings together expertise from senior levels of UK, European and Asian financial institutions, regulators and government, to provide advice and insight across the financial services landscape.

We combine deep technical knowledge with first-hand experience of policy and regulatory decision-making, to help businesses and investors anticipate and manage developments and take strategic decisions to achieve successful commercial outcomes.

Learn more

We help food, drink and farming clients navigate the changing regulatory and policy landscape to achieve their commercial goals.

The food, drink and farming policy and regulatory environment is continuously evolving affecting businesses that operate in the UK, EU and beyond.

Companies need to identify and mitigate potential risks and ensure they capitalise on opportunities in the developing nutritional and agricultural landscape.

Learn more

Changes in health policy and regulation pose both commercial opportunities and risks.

We help major corporates, investors and portfolio companies anticipate, interpret and respond to opportunities from changes in health policy, regulation and politics to deliver improved commercial outcomes. Our team brings together expertise from senior levels of UK and European ministries, public health bodies, competition authorities, and regulators.

What differentiates us is our cross-disciplinary expertise that provides us with a sophisticated understanding of the interdependencies of health and care policy with the wider political system; a forensic focus on driving commercial outcomes, and a proven track record in the sector.

Learn more

We help advanced manufacturers to navigate a fast moving regulatory and policy landscape, to anticipate and manage domestic and geopolitical risk, and to take advantage of opportunities, for example in new technologies, trade, investment.

We apply our extensive experience working in industrial policy within government, and serving clients across many advanced manufacturing segments (such as auto, aero, and energy) to help our clients anticipate, interpret and respond to political, policy and regulatory developments relevant to their commercial aims. We work with them to ensure their strategies, priorities and activities take account of these external changes, and we help businesses to bring together the arguments and evidence they can use to shape debate in the political and policy sphere.

Learn more

We work with major players in the media, sports and entertainment sectors to provide strategic advice at a time where policy and regulation is seeking to adapt to rapid developments in technology and societal expectations.

We help major companies and institutions deliver improved commercial outcomes by anticipating, interpreting and responding to opportunities and risks created by change in policy, regulation and politics.

Learn more

We work with companies and investors in the technology sector, supporting their businesses with strategic advice on political and policy change.

We provide political and policy advice to some of the largest operators in the technology industry, including clients in artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce, fintech, new media and communications.

Learn more

We help telecommunications providers and investors navigate a complex and ever-changing competition, policy and regulatory landscape drawing on our deep sector knowledge and extensive senior level industry experience.

Our team brings together a unique mix of senior expertise from UK and European telecoms regulators and government,
and extensive experience of advising the world’s leading telecoms operators to provide advice and insight across the telecommunications regulatory and competition landscape.

Learn more

We help companies, investors, and sector bodies navigate fast-changing and complex transport policy and regulation.

We advise transport clients on managing risks and seizing opportunity from structural sector reform, decarbonisation, transport funding and finances, and regulation of new modes of transport. Our team has worked within transport authorities, at the highest levels of politics and policy, and at regulators. We advise organisations in the sector on making their voice heard, by crafting commercially informed policy propositions that also benefit consumers and the Exchequer.

Learn more

We help companies, investors, and sector bodies navigate fast-changing and complex transport policy and regulation.

We advise regulated water companies and major institutional investors on their strategic and investment decisions. Our team brings together experts from regulators, government and industry; we draw on our deep understanding of how the sector is run, regulated and governed, as well as the wider political context.

Learn more