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03 Jul 2008
Tory plans to remove the dead wood from the UK tax system have been unveiled at the ICAEW headquarters by Lord Howe.
In front of an audience made up of the profession's leading tax figures, the former chancellor of the exchequer set out his stall on how a Tory government would make the UK's tax framework simpler.
Flanked by Shadow Chancellor George Osborne and ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza, Lord Howe panned the complexity of current tax system in his Making Taxes Simpler report.
Howe has been a central figure in Tory tax reform efforts for a number of years, and blamed the density of the 'horrendous' tax system for the length of time it has taken to carve out a plan.
Under Howe's proposals an Office of Tax Simplification would be set up to examine the existing tax code and make proposals.
A cross party committee would scrutinse government initiatives and proposals and any changes to tax law would be flagged up to the public no later than the pre Budget report
Howe branded the Red Book used to explain the Budget changes as a 'huge monster', compared to the guidelines in his day. He also warned that any improvements would not be immediate because efforts to unravel the complex system would stretch out.
'It's going to be a very long haul,' he added.
George Osborne wieghed into the argument in criticising the 'The history and this complex and unwieldy piece of legislation provides a perfect lesson in how not to make tax policy.'
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Visitor comments Add your comment
It's too late for me
Two years back my frustrations with the complexities of the tax system led me to decide to give up giving tax advice.
I had arguably reached the top of my profession but was unwilling to continue the struggle that I am sure is also felt by many other accountants and tax advisers. Coincidentally today is the day that I have revealed (in Taxation magazine) the full extent of my frustrations and how I fear that the tax system is falling into disrepute. My leading 'Comment' article is a response to someone who, shocked by my story, described it as "a sad indictment of the tax system'.
I have not previously explained publicly why I, a former Chairman of the ICAEW Tax Faculty and partner in two top firms of accountants, gave up giving tax advice. As explained in my article I should stress that I have not abandoned the profession and now run an independent network of tax advisers. I also remain involved in Institute activities but giving tax advice myself is a thing of the past.
I'd like to think that if we already had a functioning Office of Tax Simplification that things would be different.
Posted by: Mark Lee, 03 Jul 2008 | 00:00