ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Business and governance
    5. Charities
    6. Coronavirus
    7. Corporate and financial reporting
    8. Cyber security
    9. Ethics
    10. Insolvency
    11. ICAS Research
    12. Pensions
    13. Practice
    14. Public sector
    15. Sustainability
    16. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

March Budget – will the Chancellor announce the next steps on improving the tax advice market?

  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
Susan Cattell By Susan Cattell, Head of Tax Technical Advisory

9 March 2023

Main points

  • The 2019 Loan Charge Review recommended that the tax advice market should be improved.
  • Three consultations followed and HMRC recently updated its standard for agents.
  • Further consultation is expected on regulation (and a definition of tax advice).

Susan Cattell asks whether the Chancellor will announce the next steps in the work to improve standards in the tax advice market in the Budget – and publish the expected consultation on regulation.

Improving standards in the tax advice market

The 2019 Independent Loan Charge Review recommended that the government should improve the market in tax advice and consider establishing “a more effective system of oversight, which may include formal regulation, for tax advisers”. Since then the government has conducted three consultations, to which we have responded:

  • 2020 - Call for evidence: Raising standards in the tax advice market
  • 2021 - Consultation: Raising standards in the tax advice market: professional indemnity insurance and defining tax advice
  • 2022 – Consultation: Raising standards in tax advice, protecting customers claiming tax repayments

Outcomes and actions

Repayment agents

The consultation put forward proposals to protect taxpayers claiming repayments, by addressing problems identified with some repayment agents. The outcome was published in January 2023 and confirmed that the main proposals would be implemented, with further work also being undertaken in some areas. The most significant change will be the introduction of legislation prohibiting the use of assignments of income tax repayments. Repayment agents will also be required to register with HMRC and HMRC will undertake further work on ensuring that taxpayers have consented to claims made on their behalf.

HMRC’s standard for agents

The standard for agents sets out the behaviour HMRC expects from tax agents and tax advisers – and gives an overview of the way HMRC will tackle the minority of agents who do not meet the standard. It was first published in 2016 and applies to all agents.

At the same time as the outcome of the 2022 consultation was published, HMRC also published an updated version of the standard for agents. The new version includes detailed transparency requirements (including a requirement to agree terms of engagement with a client in writing before starting to act) and brings it into closer alignment with Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT).

Possible statutory regulation

After the 2021 consultation, the government decided not to proceed with the proposal for mandatory professional indemnity insurance for tax advisers. However, responses to the consultation (and the earlier call for evidence), along with research into the approach to regulation in comparable industries, prompted the government to announce that it would consider the case for moving further towards statutory regulation. There was a consensus that action was needed to raise standards, but differing views on the form that action would take.

The government set out three criteria that any future method of raising standards must satisfy:

a) Clarity on the standards required: The minimum standard must be set out clearly, with understood routes to be able to achieve it. For example, requirements that are related to the individual, such as fit and proper tests, codes of conduct, and conditions about the way the individual or firm goes about their business. This could include, for example, standards about transparency of pricing. The standard should not be optional.

b) Ensure transparency: Transparency is necessary so that taxpayers are able to make informed choices about choosing an adviser, and they understand the standards that apply to advisers.

c) Effective enforcement: The standard needs to be enforced, with effective monitoring and clear consequences where standards are breached.

A consultation on options that would meet these criteria was anticipated in 2022. The consultation was also expected to test a potential legislative definition of tax advice – as this would be essential to any intervention in the tax advice market.

What would ICAS like to see in the Budget?

We welcomed the announcement of the new measures to protect consumers using tax repayment agents and the publication of the updated HMRC standard for agents. We would now like to see the publication of the promised consultation on options for regulation and the definition of tax advice. In the long term, we believe the only fully effective way to protect consumers (both those claiming repayments but also those using tax agents for other reasons), is to introduce a requirement that anyone acting as a tax agent should be qualified and should belong to one of the main professional bodies that subscribe to and enforce PCRT.

Let us know your views

We welcome members’ input on consultations or other tax-related matters – email tax@icas.com to share your insights and feedback. 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.

Improving standards in tax advice – latest developments

By Susan Cattell, Head of Tax Technical Policy

23 January 2023

ICAS welcomes HMRC’s updated standard for agents - but continues to call for regulation

11 January 2023

2022-11-mitigo 2022-11-mitigo
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: