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Two more UK companies have announced they will delist their shares from the New York stock market to avoid the burden of complying with legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Both United Utilities and ICI expect to cut their compliance costs by millions of pounds a year by dropping their secondary listings in the US.

Warrington-based United Utilities, which operates electricity and water networks, said today it was running up “significant costs” by complying with the US Securities Exchange Act and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Business Guardian: United Utilities and ICI drop New York listings

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had offered up a number of recommendations for changes to the country’s legal and regulatory framework — taking aim at Securities and Exchange Commission and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the process.

The chamber, which lobbies for 3 million companies and more than 800 business associations, has been a vocal critic of both the SEC and SOX — going so far as to question the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, created as part of the legislation, in a lawsuit.

The chamber’s Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century issued the report Monday, and among its recommendations, says that the SEC should appoint a committee to study ways to reform and modernize the government’s regulatory approach to financial markets and market participants. As part of that reform, the chamber suggests that the SEC should be forced to consider potential costs to companies when writing new rules and that the agency should be given the flexibility to address issues relating to the implementation of SOX by making the legislation part of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

WebCPA: Chamber Offers Six Suggestions for U.S. Markets