Taxpayers will benefit from simpler laws, says Law Society
Date Published: 22-07-2010
Taxpayers will benefit from simpler laws, says Law Society
The Law Society's call for a simpler tax law system has been heeded with the announcement today that a new Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) will be created.
The Law Society, in its manifesto Delivering Justice, and its sub manifesto Tax: Good governance and better law making, both of which were launched in March, had called for a new body to be established to play a key role in simplifying existing tax laws and the scrutiny of new tax legislation.
Today the Society welcomed the creation of the OTS, highlighting that the overall beneficiaries will be taxpayers.
“At a time when public finances raised from taxes are so essential to the Coalition's aims, by reducing complexity and therefore encouraging compliance the OTS will provide a vital safety measure for tax laws.”
Law Society President Linda Lee says:
"In our manifesto we called for a new tax advisory body to be created and for tax laws to be simpler and more stable. The highly technical and specialised nature of tax law, coupled with the lack of Parliamentary time to debate Finance Bills, makes UK tax legislation complex and sometimes unclear.
"At a time when public finances raised from taxes are so essential to the Coalition's aims, by reducing complexity and therefore encouraging compliance the OTS will provide a vital safety measure for tax laws.
"This is an excellent example of how the Law Society and the Government can work together and share ideas to make for better law making. We look forward to providing our expertise and understanding of the tax regime and its impact with the OTS."
Ashley Greenbank, Chair of the Tax Law Committee and Tax Partner at Macfarlanes, adds:
"This is a positive move by the Government. The OTS has a very specific and focused aim of working towards a simpler UK tax system. We hope that the creation of the OTS is a demonstration of the willingness of Government to engage with tax professionals and taxpayers with the aim of producing a simpler and clearer tax code."
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Notes to editors:
For more information on the Law Society manifesto Delivering Justice visit http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/influencinglaw/manifesto.page
Journalists can contact the Law Society of England & Wales Press Office on +44 (0)20 7320 5764.
