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| CIOT respond to Taxpayers' Charter consultation |
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The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has submitted its response to HMRC's consultation documents on ‘A new Charter for HMRC and its customers’. The CIOT strongly supports the idea of a charter and sees it as a necessary and important complement to the ongoing review of HMRC Powers. The CIOT firmly believes that the Charter must be founded in statute, so that it has a proper basis. Nick Goulding, CIOT President, said: “With the extensive modernisation and extension of HMRC’s powers, taxpayers need a clear, accessible expression of their rights as a key part of the balancing safeguards. And for the Charter to work, it needs to be founded – to have its vires – in legislation.” The CIOT considers that a charter has the potential to play an important role in the way the tax system in the UK is run by helping people understand their rights and responsibilities and to cement principles such as certainty, fairness and openness. It has the potential to be of benefit not only to all those who interact with HMRC but also HMRC staff. The Charter needs to be a living document that HMRC – with guidance from a Steering Group – develop and keep up to date. It also needs to be accessible and easily understood by the unrepresented – so it must not be all in statute. Nick Goulding continued: “We are calling on the Government to press forward with the Charter by including an enabling clause in the Finance Bill in 2009.”
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About The Author  Sarah Laing Sarah is a Chartered Tax Adviser. She has been writing professionally since joining CCH Editions in 1998 as a Senior Technical Editor, contributing to a range of highly regarded publications including the British Tax Reporter, Taxes - The Weekly Tax News, the Red & Green legislation volumes, Hardman's, International Tax Agreements and many others. She became Publishing Manager for the tax and accounting portfolio in 2001 and later went on to help run CCH Seminars (including ABG Courses and Conferences). Sarah originally worked for the Inland Revenue in Newbury and Swindon Tax Offices, before moving out into practice in 1991. She has worked for both small and Big 5 firms. She now works as a freelance author providing technical writing services for the tax and accountancy profession. |
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Article Added Friday, 12 September 2008 | 747 Hits |
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