{"id":25081,"date":"2023-07-13T12:33:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T11:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smh.group\/?p=25081"},"modified":"2024-03-05T16:22:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T16:22:25","slug":"tax-is-too-complicated-say-the-legislators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/tax-is-too-complicated-say-the-legislators\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax is too complicated\u2026 say the legislators"},"content":{"rendered":"

A parliamentary committee has been examining efforts to simplify tax, but progress is still a long way off. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Among other things, last year\u2019s ill-fated \u2018mini-Budget\u2019 was notable for the swiftness with which Jeremy Hunt reversed most of the proposals it contained. The promise of reduced corporation tax<\/a> and abolition of additional rate income tax went nowhere. However, a few of then-Chancellor Mr Kwarteng\u2019s plans did survive and are now working their way into legislation.<\/p>\n

One proposal that was spared Mr Hunt\u2019s axe was the abolition of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). Mr Kwarteng\u2019s justification was that \u201cInstead of having a separate arms-length body oversee simplification, the government will embed tax simplification into the institutions of government.\u201d In the March Budget, Mr Hunt followed this up with a statement that \u201c\u2026officials were given a clear mandate to focus on simplicity of tax policy design throughout the policy-making process and on simplifying existing tax rules and administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among others, the House of Commons Treasury Committee is unimpressed by the planned demise of the OTS. In a recent report, the Committee noted, \u201cThe Chancellor appears to agree with us that the tax system is overcomplicated and the trend of ever more complication must be reversed.\u201d It suggests that \u201cdisbanding the independent champion for simpler tax risks signalling that simplification is not a priority for the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

The obvious danger is that the Treasury and HMRC will effectively end up marking their own homework, rather than having it subjected to external scrutiny. To reduce this danger, the Committee recommended the government should \u201creport to the Treasury Committee annually on steps taken to simplify the tax system, covering both new and existing taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether that happens is a decision for the government, which in recent years has largely ignored the advice it has received from the OTS. In any event, HMRC appears to be anxious to reduce its direct contact with taxpayers. For example, it has announced the \u201ctrial\u201d closure of its self-assessment helpline until 12 September.<\/p>\n

The chances of tax becoming simpler any time soon look poor, which is another reminder of the importance of independent tax planning advice.<\/p>\n

Tax treatment varies according to individual circumstances and is subject to change.<\/em><\/h6>\n
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice.<\/em><\/h6>\n
For specialist tax advice, please refer to an accountant or tax specialist.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A parliamentary committee has been examining efforts to simplify tax, but progress is still a long way off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[180,98,77,11,682,19,1028],"class_list":["post-25081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-financial-services","tag-budget","tag-financial-advice","tag-financial-planning","tag-hmrc","tag-ots","tag-tax","tag-tax-simplification"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTax is too complicated\u2026 say the legislators - SMH Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A parliamentary committee has been examining efforts to simplify tax, but progress is still a long way off.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tax is too complicated\u2026 say the legislators - 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