4th July 2008
The tax system urgently needs to be simplified, a group of MPs and professionals has recommended.
The Conservative tax working party, set up in 2007 by shadow chancellor George Osborne, has concluded that the next Conservative government should create an Office of Tax Simplification to make taxation less complex for individuals and businesses.
Speaking at the launch of the working party's report, Making Taxes Simpler, Osborne said that the 2008 Finance Bill, entering its Parliamentary stages, was "a perfect lesson in how not to make tax policy".
"I have sat... and watched in dismay as the Treasury produces hasty and ill-thought-out changes to our tax code that then pass into law with little consultation and no real scrutiny," he said. "That has to change."
Business groups have welcomed the report's suggestions. Brian Sloan, policy adviser to the British Chambers of Commerce said: "The setting up of an Office of Tax Simplification is a long overdue initiative that is needed to free business from an overly complex system."
"Small businesses in particular are not only paying an increasing amount of tax, they are also being expected to administer the system on behalf of [the] government. This is burdensome and unfair."
Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser to the Confederation of British Industry, added: "Greater simplicity and certainty in tax planning, as well as a more competitive level of business tax, are all vital if Britain is to regain its status as an internationally competitive location."
Conservatives: make tax simpler
The Conservative tax working party, set up in 2007 by shadow chancellor George Osborne, has concluded that the next Conservative government should create an Office of Tax Simplification to make taxation less complex for individuals and businesses.
Speaking at the launch of the working party's report, Making Taxes Simpler, Osborne said that the 2008 Finance Bill, entering its Parliamentary stages, was "a perfect lesson in how not to make tax policy".
"I have sat... and watched in dismay as the Treasury produces hasty and ill-thought-out changes to our tax code that then pass into law with little consultation and no real scrutiny," he said. "That has to change."
Business groups have welcomed the report's suggestions. Brian Sloan, policy adviser to the British Chambers of Commerce said: "The setting up of an Office of Tax Simplification is a long overdue initiative that is needed to free business from an overly complex system."
"Small businesses in particular are not only paying an increasing amount of tax, they are also being expected to administer the system on behalf of [the] government. This is burdensome and unfair."
Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser to the Confederation of British Industry, added: "Greater simplicity and certainty in tax planning, as well as a more competitive level of business tax, are all vital if Britain is to regain its status as an internationally competitive location."
Tags: Regulations, Tax
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