We often complain about how poor the Government, Treasury and HMRC are at consulting on tax changes, but how good are we in the profession at responding to them?
I was surprised to see HMRC's response to the payrolling of benefits consultation; they received only 19 responses from professional practices!
If we in the profession can't be bothered to say anything directly to HMRC on a consultation, should we be surprised when they come out with poor legislation?
Maybe we should just rely on our representative bodies and institutes; after all we do pay substantial subscription fees every year. It would be good to think that these paid for some quality input into tax changes.
Stephen Barrett, RC Barrett & Co, Chartered Accountants