Wider tax policy reform required

To reduce taxpayer confusion cut down costly errors and avoid U-turns the government must change the way it makes tax and Budget decisions.

A new report Better Budgets from the Chartered Institute of Taxation the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Institute for Government (IfG) outlines ten steps towards making better tax policy. These include:

• Publishing clear guiding principles and priorities for tax policy.
• Improving consultation in particular ensuring that they take place before key decisions have been made.
• Using external public reviews of aspects of the tax system to open up public debate.

The Treasury needs a more robust policy-making process before measures make it into the Budget speech the report says. Further parliament needs to improve the quality of its scrutiny of the chancellor’s proposals and...