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Tax reform

ICAEW’s Tax Faculty draws on its members’ expertise to examine hot topics in tax and provide practical solutions to challenges faced by policymakers and regulators. This is underpinned by the faculty’s Ten Tenets for a Better Tax System that set out the characteristics against which it evaluates tax systems and tax policies.

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Ten Tenets for a Better Tax System

The Tax Faculty has formulated Ten Tenets for a Better Tax System. This comprises 10 key characteristics against which to evaluate tax systems and tax policies, which include: simplicity, certainty and reasonableness.
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Building a better UK tax system

As HMRC embarks on a 10-year review of tax administration, ICAEW examines the potential opportunities and challenges to reforming the UK's tax system to be fit for a digital future.
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Autumn Budget 2024

On 30 October 2024, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the Autumn Budget. Read ICAEW's reaction and analysis.
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Tax Faculty analysis of UK Budget and fiscal events

Tax news in brief 6 January 2026
  • Article
  • 06 Jan 2026
Highlights from the broader tax news for the period ending 6 January 2026, including: looking ahead to Spring Statement 2026; updated rates of interest on underpaid and overpaid tax; and news of the R&D advance assurance pilot.
Government makes further concessions on IHT reforms
  • Article
  • 30 Dec 2025
The government has announced that the new allowance for 100% agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) for inheritance tax (IHT) will be increased from £1m to £2.5m.
Agents may be overlooking IHT on cryptoassets
  • Article
  • 19 Dec 2025
HMRC is writing to agents who have previously submitted inheritance tax (IHT) returns to raise awareness of the requirement to account for IHT on cryptoassets. Any returns that contain an error should be corrected.
Exclusive Budget 2025: Changes to share exchanges and reorganisations rules
  • Article
  • 19 Dec 2025
Changes to the rules for share exchanges and reorganisations apply with effect from 26 November 2025. Pete Miller and Nick Wright explain how the revised legislation is expected to work and explore the likely impact on clearance applications.
Tax advisers face existential threat in 2026, warns ICAEW
  • Article
  • 15 Dec 2025
ICAEW has expressed serious concerns with the package of measures in the Finance Bill 2025-26 affecting agents and has called for significant changes to be made to avoid the risk of harm to taxpayers and mainstream firms.
What are salary sacrificed pension contributions?
  • Article
  • 10 Dec 2025
ICAEW’s Tax Faculty explains the circumstances in which the cap on the national insurance contributions (NIC) exemption for salary sacrificed pension contributions, announced at the Autumn Budget 2025, are likely to apply.
Taxpayers reminded to ensure returns are correct and complete
  • Article
  • 03 Dec 2025
Following the publication of guidance earlier this year, HMRC is asking wealthy taxpayers to ensure that any legal interpretation applied in a tax return or other document sent to HMRC is "correct in both fact and law”.
Budget: New loan charge settlement opportunity
  • Article
  • 02 Dec 2025
The government has said it will accept almost all of Ray McCann’s recommendations for a new settlement opportunity and go further by writing off the first £5,000 of debt, in the hope that this will give individuals “a path to resolution”.
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Tax representations

ICAEW REP 097/25 Appropriate mechanisms for making changes to the Welsh tax acts
  • Representation
  • 27 Nov 2025
  • PDF (212kb)
A representation dated 27 November 2025 to a consultation published by HMRC on 8 September 2025.
ICAEW Rep 082/25 Finance Bill Sub-Committee - Call For Evidence on Draft Finance Bill Clauses For Reforming Inheritance Tax
  • Representation
  • 06 Nov 2025
  • PDF (275kb)
A representation dated 7 October 2025 to a consultation published by House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee on 17 September 2025.
ICAEW REP 089/25 SME Audit Market Study Emerging Findings
  • Representation
  • 17 Oct 2025
  • PDF (253kb)
A representation dated 17 October 2025 to a consultation published by the Financial Reporting Council on 17 July 2025.
ICAEW Rep 91/25 Autumn Budget 2025
  • No content type
  • 15 Oct 2025
  • PDF (536kb)
An ICAEW representation to HM Treasury ahead of the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025.
ICAEW REP 073/25 Policy paper Income Tax — changes to Employee Car Ownership Schemes
  • Representation
  • 15 Sep 2025
  • PDF (186kb)
A representation dated 15 September 2025 to a consultation published by HMRC on 21 July 2025.
ICAEW REP 072/25 Policy paper better use of new and improved third-party data
  • Representation
  • 15 Sep 2025
  • PDF (244kb)
A representation dated 15 September 2025 to a consultation published by HMRC on 21 July 2025.
ICAEW REP 071/25 Policy paper Proposals to close in on promoters of marketed tax avoidance
  • Representation
  • 15 Sep 2025
  • PDF (177kb)
A representation dated 15 September 2025 to a consultation published by HMRC on 21 July 2025.
ICAEW REP 070/25 Policy paper Enhancing HMRC’s powers: tackling tax adviser facilitated non-compliance
  • Representation
  • 15 Sep 2025
  • PDF (227kb)
A representation dated 15 September 2025 to a consultation published by HMRC on 21 July 2025.
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Watch a Tax Faculty webinar

Webinars and videos have been designed by the Tax Faculty to provide practical guidance to practitioners on important developments to tax practice and policy.

You can register for Tax Faculty webinars by visiting our events page.
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