Enter Your E-mail

LITRG considers whether tax jargon could be reduced by the UK adopting a similar idea to the USA’s recent Plain Writing Act.

Introduction

Over the years HMRC have carried out numerous research projects to assess the needs of their customers. The missing ingredient after these reviews has been to take the feedback and make it a reality, particularly when it comes to communicating with customers in a way that they can understand. Have the USA approached this issue in a better way?

The USA’s ‘Plain Writing Act 2010’

Last October, President Barack Obama signed the Plain Writing Act 2010, which will require the US federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a ‘clear, concise, well-organised’ manner that follows the best practice of plain language writing.

The Act defines ‘plain writing’ as:

‘writing that the intended audience can readily understand and use because that writing is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices of plain writing.’

It covers any document that:

• is relevant to obtaining any Federal Government benefit or service or filing taxes;
• provides information about any Federal Government benefit or service; or
• explains to the public how to comply with a requirement the Federal Government administers or enforces;
• includes (whether in paper or electronic form) a letter, publication, form, notice, or instruction; and
• does not include a regulation.

Lessons for the UK

A similar Act in the UK, properly enforced, would save LITRG countless hours of commenting upon badly drafted Government forms, leaflets and general guidance. It would also give the unrepresented taxpayer a fighting chance of helping themselves when trying to cope with HMRC obligations. It would certainly reduce error to a considerable degree.

Might we then get away from classic examples of confusing ‘official language’ such as ‘trivial commutation’ or ‘pre-owned assets’ which the man or woman in the street is expected to recognise and understand?

If you have received some obscure explanations or jargon from HMRC, we would like to add them to our collection, so please submit them by using the contact page on the LITRG website.