Cliff edges in the tax and benefits system

The Chancellor appears to agree with us that the trend of an ever more complicated tax system must be reversed. Disbanding the independent body responsible for advising him on, and championing, tax simplification risks signalling that it is not a priority for the Government. However, the most important factor in securing a simpler tax system in practice would be the Chancellor taking, and acting on, the personal responsibility for simplification that he has pledged.

The Government’s performance against its stated intention to simplify the tax system must be subject to public scrutiny. As the parliamentary body tasked with considering the performance of the Treasury and HMRC we are a core component of that accountability.

Should the Government proceed with abolishing the OTS, we recommend they report to the Treasury Committee annually on steps taken to simplify the tax system, covering both new and existing taxes. Such reports should set out performance against tax simplification metrics, compare the complexity of the UK tax system with other countries and set out what the Treasury has done to understand taxpayer needs for tax simplification.