Raising standards in the tax advisory market

HMRC published a consultation on improving standards in the tax advisory market (tinyurl.com/hmrcraisingstandards) as part of the Spring Budget. Improving standards in our industry has been a repeated idea over the last few years. After various ‘scandals’ – including advisers continuing to promote tax avoidance schemes and issues around repayment agents to name a few referenced in the consultation – it is clear that some sort of action needs to be taken. The question is: what action and by whom?

Identifying the problem

HMRC has identified problems in the industry as being issues ‘with substandard and unscrupulous tax advice...[including] problems relating to professional standards’ and concludes that ‘professional body membership improves compliance but on its own is probably insufficient’. Yet the consultation also states:

‘Most tax practitioners who provide tax advice and services are competent and adhere to professional standards; however the...