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Office of Tax Simplification

Written by Emma Beevor, Regulatory Development Officer, 21 July 2010

This information is directed at professional financial advisers only. It should not be distributed to, or relied upon by, retail customers.

As part of the Government’s commitment to making the UK the most competitive country in the G20, Chancellor George Osborne and Exchequer Secretary David Gauke launched the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) this week.

Who?

Michael Jack and John Whiting will lead the office on an interim basis as Chair and Tax Director. More permanent appointments will be made during 2011. They will be supported by a small secretariat including tax experts from HMRC, the Treasury and other tax and legal professionals.

The Rt Hon Michael Jack has served in a number of ministerial posts, including as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1995 to 1997, during which time he was responsible for establishing the Tax Law Rewrite project, which was tasked with rewriting the UK’s direct tax legislation in clearer and simpler language.

John Whiting was appointed as the first Tax Policy Director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in 2009, following a lcareer with PricewaterhouseCoopers where he was a tax partner for 25 years. He was awarded the OBE in 2008 for services to the tax profession.

Where?

The Office has been established as an Independent Office of the Treasury.

Why?

The Office has been established to make the tax system work better for the tax payer, the ultimate objective being to simplify the UK tax system for both businesses and individuals.

What will the Office do?

Initially the Office will be working on the following two reviews:

• Tax Reliefs Review: to review a list of all reliefs, allowances and exemptions within the taxes and duties administered by HMRC and identify those reliefs that should be repealed or simplified.
• Small Business Tax Simplification Review (including IR35): to identify areas of the tax system that cause the most day-to-day complexity and uncertainty for small businesses and recommend priority areas for simplification.

Reports on both will be presented to the Chancellor by Budget 2011.

Further information can be found on the HMT website:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ots.htm
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