Give ICAS your views on consultations published on Tax Administration and Maintenance Day
By Susan Cattell, Head of Tax Technical Policy
26 May 2023
We look at the latest tax consultations published on Tax Administration and Maintenance Day and call for members' views.
Tax Administration and Maintenance Day
On 27 April 2023, ‘Tax Administration and Maintenance Day’ the government followed up on the March Budget with a package of consultations, calls for evidence and policy papers. The stated intention was that the proposal would support its ambition to simplify and modernise the tax system, tackle non-compliance, make the tax system fairer for taxpayers and make the customs system work better for traders.
Three of the consultations are summarised below – we would welcome input on these (or any of the other consultations) to inform potential ICAS responses. Email us to give us your views.
Call for evidence – information and data
This call for evidence forms part of the Tax Administration Framework Review. It considers how HMRC’s information and data-gathering powers, and taxpayer safeguards could be updated to enable the digitalisation of services, improve HMRC’s compliance capabilities and reduce administrative burdens (whilst ensuring that taxpayer data is protected).
Views are invited on accountability for the accuracy of returns, (if there is extensive pre-population of data in future), including challenging and correcting errors and data-matching (unique identifiers). The call for evidence also proposes standardisation of data provision from third parties and simplifying the regime for requiring third parties to provide data.
Discussion paper – creating innovative change through new legislative pilots
The paper considers a potential new approach to piloting changes. The proposed ‘sandboxes’ would involve:
“a temporary environment where HMRC could conduct tests of new policy and processes which suspend, implement, ease and/or harmonise legal obligations. This could be for a distinct group of people or sector for a defined period of time and would be accompanied by appropriate safeguards and guidance.”
This raises some important issues and possible concerns. It appears that participation in a sandbox might not be voluntary, with HMRC deciding on the participants. There is no discussion of what would happen if participants were unable to deal with a different regime – or whether they would be able to leave the pilot. There could also be issues for agents, whose clients were included in a pilot, without either their own or the agent’s agreement. Unless there is a requirement for participants to agree to taking part, there could be questions about whether the pilots would be compatible with HMRC’s Charter.
Tacking promoters of tax avoidance
This consultation proposes further measures to tackle the remaining promoters of tax avoidance schemes. The main proposal is for a new criminal offence to apply to promoters who continue to promote tax avoidance schemes specified in an HMRC ‘Stop Notice’.
Views are also invited on proposals for expediting the disqualification of directors of companies involved in promoting tax avoidance, including those who control or exercise influence over such companies.
Other consultations
Other consultations and discussion papers published on Tax Administrations and Maintenance Day included:
- The taxation of decentralised finance involving the lending and staking of cryptoassets
- Customs treatment of post and parcel exports
- Charities tax compliance
- Stamp Taxes on Shares modernisation
- Help to Save Reform
Let us know your views
ICAS responds to many tax calls for evidence and consultations, as well as producing tax policy papers and reports. We also regularly attend meetings with HMRC at which service levels, delays and other issues are discussed, and we raise problems being encountered by members. We welcome input from members to inform our work; email us to share your insights and feedback.