Concerns about new tax simplification measures

It is going to be very difficult for the government to deliver meaningful simplification to the tax system without a clear plan focused resource accountability and investment say the CIOT ATT LITRG ICAS and ICAEW in a joint letter to financial secretary Victoria Atkins.

The bodies are ‘committed to supporting the work to embed simplification in tax policy and administrative design’ and consider that the changes in the simplification package at Spring Budget 2023 were a ‘step in the right direction but narrow in scope’.

The letter states that complexity in both the UK tax administration system and tax legislation remains a key issue for members especially when combined with the challenges they face in getting help from and engaging with HMRC customer services and systems. Further members would ‘welcome simplification that has a much broader impact across the taxpayer...