Staff news

We are delighted to announce that Stephen Relf has joined the Tax Faculty staff as TAXline and online editor. Stephen joined from Croner-i where he undertook a similar role. Prior to that Stephen was head of the technical team at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, so is highly experienced in tax content publishing and the role played by the professional bodies in supporting members and raising standards. With Stephen taking up the editorship role, Lindsey Wicks will be moving over to undertake a senior role in tax policy and will be covering a wide portfolio spanning many of the Tax Faculty’s activities. 

Meeting the new Financial Secretary to the Treasury

Faculty staff attended a tax simplification round-table meeting with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddleston MP. I confirmed ICAEW’s commitment to tax simplification and provided some initial simplification suggestions in the area of VAT. These suggestions will be followed up by a letter, which at the time of writing is being drafted. At the meeting, the Minister also expressed an interest in ideas about how we could remove the ‘bad actors’ who are abusing the tax system.

Finance Bill and Spring Budget 2024

The latest Finance Bill completed its committee stages without any amendments being made. The third reading is scheduled for 5 February and the Bill is likely to be enacted by mid-February. The faculty submitted four briefings and they were mentioned several times during the Parliamentary process – for a list and links to the briefings see Tax Representations, below. The Shadow Financial Secretary referred to the faculty’s representations on R&D tax reliefs, including the need for clear guidance, and on stop notices for promoters. During the Public Bill committee debates, he also quoted ICAEW’s representations on the abolition of the lifetime allowance charge and additional information to be contained in returns. 

The Spring Budget is due to take place on Wednesday, 6 March 2024. As usual, the faculty will be bringing you all the news in what could be the last Budget before an election. In advance of the 2024 Budget, faculty staff made a major contribution to ICAEW’s Budget submission. This built on some of the points that were raised in a meeting between ICAEW’s CEO and the Chancellor, to which the faculty staff provided extensive briefing material and support. 

HMRC service standards

The level of HMRC service standards remains a number one concern for ICAEW members. The matter was raised in a meeting between ICAEW’s CEO and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This meeting was followed up with a letter that highlighted member case studies of poor performance, which have incurred unnecessary delays and extra time and costs, ultimately impacting on growth and productivity of the UK economy.

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

ICAEW’s Tax Faculty responded to HMRC’s consultation on draft regulations for MTD ITSA and associated notices in ICAEW REP 08/24. The response made a number of specific technical comments and also emphasised that the amendments to the regulations and notices need to be set in the context of wider concerns about the programme.

Regulation of the tax profession

In advance of meetings with HMRC concerning regulation of the tax profession, Tax Faculty staff held discussions with the Tax Faculty Board and other professional colleagues to consider how this topic should be approached from a public interest perspective to arrive at the best outcome. Subsequently, ICAEW staff attended two meetings with HMRC staff on potential regulation of the tax profession: the first was with HMRC’s Director of Intermediaries and the second with HMRC’s wider intermediaries’ team and several other professional bodies. 

Improving PAYE processes

Following many years of our making representations about HMRC’s poor processing of employee PAYE data and the discrepancies between HMRC’s and employers’ PAYE liabilities and payments records, HMRC agreed to host a meeting on 24 January 2024. We hope that this signals that HMRC has decided to work with rep bodies and software developers to resolve the numerous longstanding problems.

Basis period reform

Faculty staff attended the latest meeting of HMRC’s basis period reform stakeholder group. This engagement has resulted in several improvements. These include HMRC agreeing to write individual letters to all unrepresented taxpayers affected by the change, a new service for obtaining overlap relief figures from HMRC, and strengthening the message that taxpayers who are able to align their accounting period to the tax year will find it much simpler to comply in the future.

Tax representations

ICAEW REP 01/24: Provision on activities in connection with the exploration and exploitation of extractable natural resources

ICAEW REP 03/24: Finance Bill 2023-24 – Clause 2 and Schedule 1: New regime for research and development carried out by companies

ICAEW REP 04/24: Finance Bill 2023-24 – Clauses 32 & 33: Promoters of tax avoidance

ICAEW REP 05/24: Finance Bill 2023-24 – Clause 35: Additional information to be contained in returns under TMA 1970 etc

ICAEW REP 06/24: Finance Bill 2023-24 – Clause 14: Provision in connection with abolition of the lifetime allowance charge, and Schedule 9 pensions

ICAEW REP 08/24: Draft legislation: Income Tax (Digital Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 and associated notices

Tax Faculty committee and other meetings 

During the month there were meetings of the Tax Faculty Board, the Tax Policy and Reputation Committee and the VAT and Duties Committee. Faculty staff also attended a meeting of the SDLT working group and a meeting of the Agricultural Representative Bodies group. Faculty staff also attended a meeting of the pan-professional group that is responsible for reviewing the professional conduct in relation to taxation rules (the PCRT).

Faculty staff also attended numerous other meetings with HMRC, including the Joint Customs Consultative Committee, VAT penalty reform, a round table on trust transparency, and the virtual communications group. 

Podcast, webinars and events

The first in a new series of monthly Tax Faculty podcasts was launched. The first was hosted by Lindsey Wicks and she was joined in the studio by Caroline Miskin and me to discuss what lies in store for 2024, HMRC services standards, and where we are heading on the regulation agenda. The podcast is available on ICAEW’s website as well as on various podcast platforms including Apple, Google and Spotify. The second recording is in the can and will be available in early February – in time to accompany TAXline. Do listen to it, subscribe and tell us what you think.