CIoT appoints former president Cullinane tax policy director
John Cullinane takes over the role from Patrick Stevens
THE CIOT has appointed former president of the institute John Cullinane as the organisation’s new tax policy director; he has assumed the post with immediate effect.
Cullinane recently retired from Deloitte where he headed the firm’s tax quality and risk function. He has a long-standing interest in tax policy issues and has worked with governments and international finance centres to develop more effective and competitive tax policies.
Cullinane (pictured) served as the institute’s president in 2006/07 and focused on emphasising the rule of law in taxation and achieving greater recognition for tax advisers as professionals.
He is the third tax policy director that the CIoT has had, following on from John Whiting in 2010-2013 and Patrick Stevens from 2013 until 2015.
CIoT president Chris Jones said: “John is taking up this role at an exciting time – the profile of tax issues in Parliament, press and public debate remains sky high and the need for the tax profession to make its voice heard in the corridors of power has never been greater.
“As our lead spokesperson to both media and political audiences, John will be leading on communicating our objectives to policy-makers and opinion-formers. These include the need for greater simplicity and clarity in the tax system, so people can understand how much tax they should be paying and why, and a fair balance between the powers of the tax authorities and the rights of taxpayers.”