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The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has handed out its highest members’ honour for only the third time.
Institute grandee John Andrews OBE has become the latest recipient of the Council Award, which acknowledges outstanding contributions to the CIOT and the tax profession as a whole.
He joined the institute in 1965 and was president from 1997 to 1998, during which time he set up the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group to provide a voice for unrepresented taxpayers. He also helped found the charity Tax Help for Older People.
The former PricewaterhouseCoopers senior tax partner received the CIOT gong in recognition of his long service as an officer of the professional body and as a champion of vulnerable taxpayers.
John is the current holder of the Taxation Awards lifetime achievement prize, and was granted the OBE in 2003 for his charitable services. He was also one of the first winners of an HMRC transparency award.
The CIOT’s Council Award – which was established in 2009 – has been given to two other individuals: Ian Luder and John Avery Jones, both former presidents.
In his acceptance speech, John Andrews urged the government to give a higher priority to the needs of the disadvantaged, saying, “I’d like the people at the top… to say their number one priority was ensuring that those right at the bottom of the economic pile got the very best service and consideration.”
He also warned that parts of the debate on tax avoidance contained “a distinct lack of facts, accompanied by impossible dreams, misunderstandings and many unsupported assertions” – and he urged the CIOT to be proactive in protecting tax law from “being sent to an early grave.”
