Big Four put tax policy on conference season agenda
Lobbyists at the Big Four accounting firms and the profession’s institutes are gearing up to shape tax and business policy in the run up to the next general election
A spokesman for the Conservative party said it had seen an increase in the
number of firms planning to attend the party conference in Birmingham later this
month, adding that firms were advising the party on tax and policy
implementation.
Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable set out anti-avoidance tax policy at
the party’s conference this week.
PwC ‘s Peter Wyman said: ‘The next general election is about 18 months away
and there is much more interest in policy. It’s probably right to say that
accounting firms and institutes will play a close role in helping the parties
shape policy.’
Accountants want the government to consult the profession earlier on major
tax changes to help avoid repeats of the confusion and climbdowns during reforms
of capital gains tax and non-dom tax.
Richard Aitken-Davies,
ACCA president, and
Steve Priddy, director of technical policy and research, will be chairing panel
events at the Labour and Conservative conferences on the theme of the credit
crunch.