Osborne announces first board members for the Office of Tax Simplification, Michael Jack and John Whiting
The Chancellor George Osborne and Exchequer Secretary David Gauke today established the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS).
The Chancellor has appointed a Board of tax experts who will be responsible for leading the work of the OTS over the next year. The Board Members are Michael Jack (Chairman) and John Whiting (Tax Director).
Their responsibilities will be to identify areas where complexities in the tax system for both businesses and individual taxpayers can be reduced and to publish their findings for the Chancellor to consider ahead of his Budget.
The OTS will undertake two initial reviews over the coming year. They will focus on tax reliefs and small business tax simplification (including IR35). The OTS will publish the initial findings from their work on reliefs in late autumn and on small business tax by the 2011 Budget.
The OTS will also draw on external expertise from the tax and legal profession over the coming months. These experts will focus on specific areas of complexity in the tax system and provide additional advice to the OTS.
The Government is committed to making the UK the most competitive country in the G20 and to reducing the complexity in the tax system. Over the past decade, the tax code doubled to more than 11,000 pages and the UK slipped from 7th to 13th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index between 1997 and 2009-10.
This trend needs to be reversed, and the OTS is an important part of making the tax system work better for the taxpayer.
Chancellor George Osborne said:
“The previous Government took a complex tax system and made it even worse. A decade of meddling and intervening has made the tax affairs of millions of families and businesses across the UK extremely complicated. We need to sort out this mess.
“Two years ago I promised to create the Office of Tax Simplification. Today, we’re delivering on that promise. With its independent, expert advice it will be a permanent force for a simpler tax system.
“Simpler, more competitive taxes will help us show the world that Britain is open for business.”
The Rt Hon Michael Jack, the Chair of the OTS, said:
“Entrepreneurship should never be stifled because of an overly complex tax system. That’s why I am delighted that the Government have committed themselves to looking at ways to simplify the tax system, with an initial focus on small businesses.
“Simplification in a complex world is a real challenge, but it’s one that has to be addressed if the tax system is not to hinder the economy’s ability to grow.”
John Whiting, the Tax Director of the OTS, said:
“I’ve long argued that we need a simpler tax system in the UK, so I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to take forward the Government’s commitment in that direction.
“In our complex world a truly simple tax system for all is probably impossible, but working towards a simpler system will help all who deal with it: taxpayers, especially the unrepresented, tax advisers and tax authorities.”