The government has announced they are to make tax rules in the UK simpler in a bid to attract more foreign investment. The Office of Tax Simplification (OFT) has been created to do this and over the next few years they will be tasked with reviewing the UK tax system.
One of the first tasks for the OFT is to review the highly controversial IR35 legislation. This will be detailed in a report that will identify areas of the tax system that cause the most day-to-day complexity and uncertainty for small businesses.
This has been welcomed by the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and Andrew Hubbard, who has long been calling for a review in this area, commented:
“The Chartered Institute of Taxation has long argued that there is a real need to simplify the taxation of the smallest businesses. A more carefully planned and integrated approach would not only aid tax compliance in the small business sector but also allow small businesses to make commercial decisions that are not distorted by hasty and ephemeral changes in tax policy. We would like to see an increase in certainty, simplicity and stability of the tax system emerge from the review.”
