CIOT – Tax review can even out the playing field for small business
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has welcomed today’s news that one of the first tasks of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) will be a review of small business taxation.
This will include the controversial IR35 legislation on the tax treatment of contractors.
Andrew Hubbard, immediate past president of the CIOT, has been calling for a review in this area. He commented:
“The Chartered Institute of Taxation has long argued that there is a real need to simplify the taxation of the smallest businesses. Too often we have seen sticking plaster applied to problems when what is needed is a thoroughgoing review. 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.
“The tax regime for small firms has been bumpy and confusing for too long. I hope the OTS will be able to even out the playing field.”
Welcoming the inclusion of IR35 in the review, Colin Ben-Nathan, Chairman of the CIOT’s Employment Taxes Sub-Committee, added:
“In a modern, flexible labour market, workers and engagers should be free to form the contractual relationships they choose, without having their arrangements second-guessed because the tax consequences of their choice differ from those of another possible arrangement.
“Rather than the tax system being used as an override to determine a worker’s status as an employee, we think their status should be based on their legal position in employment law and that the tax and NICs liability should flow from this.”
ENDS
George Crozier
External Relations Manager
D: +44 (0)20 7340 0569
M: +44 (0)7740 477374
The Chartered Institute of Taxation
Registered charity number 1037771
www.tax.org.uk
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