Published on 30 November 2021

LITRG welcomes roadmap for future consultations about tax

Press release
  • Government to publish a roadmap setting out their direction of travel for reform of the tax system over the next 10 years
  • The Government’s response to HMRC’s earlier call for evidence gave some indication of what is in scope and what is out of scope as part of the reforms

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) welcomes the Government’s commitment that HMRC will develop a roadmap setting out the direction of travel for reforms to the tax system over the next ten years.1 This is after the Government responded today (Tuesday) to HMRC’s earlier call for evidence on the reforms.

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Victoria Todd, Head of LITRG, said:

”A key part of reforming the tax system is to know where HMRC are trying to get to and then carefully planning the route there from where we are now. In July 2021,2 we urged HMRC to create a clear roadmap for reform setting out longer term goals as well as the incremental changes needed towards those goals as part of their ten-year plan. We are pleased to see this call answered with a commitment to produce a roadmap for future consultation and analysis, working with stakeholders.

“Deciding what is within scope of the reforms is a key step towards this more detailed planning. Today we see some indications of what we might and might not see happening: for example, the Government has confirmed it has no plans currently to move the tax year end from 5 April.3

”We are pleased that the Government has taken on board the importance of clearly delineating responsibilities within the tax system – for HMRC, taxpayers, agents and third-party suppliers of data.4 In a world where third-party data is increasingly used to pre-populate tax returns, for example, people can mistakenly believe that HMRC is all-knowing. Such misunderstandings can lead to people being unwittingly non-compliant.

“We welcome the Government’s support for the principle that taxpayers should have a right to correct mistakes in third-party data.5 However, the initial response to the call for evidence does not indicate how this will be implemented. We look forward to further consultation on this point, as it will be important that taxpayers are not passed back and forth between HMRC and the third-party to resolve discrepancies.’”

Notes for editors

  1. Call for evidence: the tax administration framework: supporting a 21st century tax system, response published 30 November 2021. See para 4.2 of the response document at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-the-tax-administration-framework-supporting-a-21st-century-tax-system
  2. https://www.tax.org.uk/litrg-press-release-hmrc-must-set-out-a-tax-reform-roadmap-says-litrg
  3. See page 21 of the document at 1. This follows a review from the Office of Tax Simplification, looking at the issues surrounding a move of the tax year end, for example to 31 March or 31 December.
  4. See page 26 of the document at 1.
  5. Also on page 26 of the document at 1.
  6. LITRG’s July 2021 response to the Tax Administration framework review can be found here: https://www.litrg.org.uk/latest-news/submissions/210712-tax-administration-framework-review
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