This week's opinion: 9 December 2021

In the last two editions of Taxation, we have carried tributes to two giants of our profession who had recently passed away. Re-reading them again today reminded me how lucky we are that there are so many individuals in the tax world who not only have great expertise in their chosen specialism but have an ability to communicate their knowledge and enthusiasm as part of very rich and rewarding lives. The range of outside skills and experiences that our colleagues possess never ceases to amaze me. 

I imagine that, like me, readers will have experienced somebody asking what they do for a living. When you tell them you are a tax adviser, you are faced with a blank stare and a shuffling of the feet as the person tries to move on to find somebody more interesting – at least I hope it is not just me that this happens to! Ours is a fascinating job and we should all take pride in what we do. It is too much to hope that a young person will grow up with the ambition of becoming a tax adviser rather than an astronaut, but the more that we can do to spread the word that ours is not only a necessary but also a fulfilling and stimulating profession, the stronger the next generation of tax advisers will become.

Taxation has traditionally not carried obituaries, but feedback from the tributes which we published recently suggests to me that readers will appreciate short pieces about senior members of the profession who have passed away. For obvious reasons I hope that we do not have to publish pieces very often, but where appropriate we will be happy to consider printing tributes from friends or family.