Review of the Office of Tax Simplification
Executive summary
AAT believes that the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has proven itself as a very successful advisor on tax reform and would therefore like to see it provided with additional resources to enable it to make an even greater contribution. Given the huge array of taxes there is no shortage of areas on which the OTS could be set to work to make improvements but it is currently only able to look at a limited number of issues given its limited resources.
AAT would like to see the OTS become involved in the development of new taxes rather than looking exclusively at existing tax reform. This should help minimise complexity and increase effectiveness but again would clearly require additional resources.
The OTS board may be enhanced with the addition of a professional with considerable communications experience. This is because of the clear need to both effectively communicate the recommendations it makes and to raise awareness and understanding.
Whilst some may have concerns around the independence of the OTS, these are not shared by AAT. The OTS guards its independence rigorously and has successfully demonstrated this impartiality with every report produced.
Related consultation responses
Raising Standards in the Tax Advice Market: AAT's submission to HMRC
AAT argues for mandatory membership of professional bodies for all paid-for tax advisers to address the high levels of poor-quality tax advice in the UK.
Online sales tax: assessing an option to help rebalance taxation of the retail sector
AAT believes an online only sales tax, that will not replace business rates but provide funding for reduced rates for some retailers, would not be effective.
