Lobbyist pressure for tax charter
Pressure for the government to draw up a taxpayers' charter will increase this autumn as lobby groups line up fresh research to back their demands
The Chartered Institute of Taxation, tax
campaigner Richard Murphy and European tax experts the CFE all aim to produce
reports on the need for a charter, or code of conduct, between
HM Revenue & Customs
and the taxpayer.
Last week saw renewed demand for some form of governance after it was
revealed that HMRC was seeking increased powers to seize money from the bank
accounts of taxpayers, a request that met with widespread condemnation.
The CIoT has Philip Baker of Grays Inn Tax Chambers working on research
backing a charter which, it is hoped, could form the basis of a defence for
taxpayers should they face the taxman in court.
HMRC said this week it had received several representations from various
bodies concerning a new taxpayers’ charter. ‘We are urgently considering those
representations as part of that review,’ a spokesman said.