With the 2020 Budget soon approaching, business groups have urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to take a new approach to making tax policy.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and the Institute for Government (IfG) have written a letter to the Chancellor, stating that the UK needs system ‘formed through a considered strategy which reduces the burdens of compliance on business and can become a source of competitive advantage for the UK’.
The groups asked Mr Sunak to maintain the government’s commitment to holding a single annual fiscal event. This is to ‘reduce the frequency of changes of direction’ in regard to taxes. The also requested that the Chancellor takes a strategic approach to making tax policy. Additionally, they asked for an extended road-map approach to tax policy making.
Also, the business groups have called on the Chancellor to prioritise ‘full, open and early consultation’ on tax reforms. They stated that too many consultations begin when key decisions have been already made.
Tax reliefs and measures should be subject to more systematic evaluation, the groups claimed. They recommend that the government review whether tax measures are ‘achieving their objectives at acceptable cost’.
‘It would be beneficial for businesses if tax laws became better planned. Although we do receive notice, the constant changing legislation can disrupt businesses who need to adapt to comply.’
Quote from Nigel Holland