CIOT: New President to focus on rebuilding trust
Anthony Thomas, the incoming President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), will set the tone for his presidency tomorrow with a speech emphasising the importance of trust between the public and their tax advisers on the one hand, and HMRC on the other.
He will say: “A fair tax system requires respect on both sides. HMRC are at risk of damaging the trust that has been built up over centuries between tax payers and tax collectors.”
In his keynote speech at the CIOT’s annual general meeting, Anthony Thomas will break the issue down into three component parts:
1. The attitude of HMRC to the rule of law;
2. The impact of ever-increasing HMRC powers;
3. HMRC’s operational performance in recent years
He will also talk about what the Institute will be doing to help improve trust.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Anthony Thomas said: “I recognise that maintaining a proper professional and working relationship with HMRC centred on mutual trust and respect will not be easy. But my goal is to try to improve the position for all concerned.”
Anthony Thomas will take office at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 17 May, when he succeeds Vincent Oratore as President. Patrick Stevens will succeed Anthony Thomas as the Institute’s Deputy President for the next 12 months. He in turn will be succeeded as Vice President by Stephen Coleclough. (See below for biographies.)
As is traditional, the Institute’s AGM will be followed by the annual CTA Address, which will this year be given by the Rt Hon Sir Paul Kennedy, Interception of Communications Commissioner, on the subject of ‘Powers…Between Citizen and State’.
Outgoing CIOT President Vincent Oratore comments:
“The last year has been a successful one for the Institute, with membership continuing to grow and the Institute’s public profile higher than ever. On my own key presidential theme of reforming the tax law process I am delighted to have seen real progress over the last 12 months, including the setting up of the Office of Tax Simplification and improvements to the consultative process.
“I wish Anthony well in his presidential year.”
Notes to Editors
Biographies of new officers
New CIOT President – Anthony Thomas
Anthony Thomas CTA (Fellow) FCCA ATT has been in tax practice with Thomas & Company, a firm of tax advisers based in Coventry, for more than 30 years. He qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant in 1979 and became a member of the Institute of Taxation in 1980, setting up practice dealing mainly with the taxation aspects of smaller business and the professions.
He joined the Council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in 2003, having already sat on the Council of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), being the President in 2002/03. He is a past Chairman of the joint CIOT/ATT Standards Committee and past member of the joint Audit Committee.
He is also a past Treasurer of the CIOT and past chairman of the Birmingham Branch committee. Elected Vice President of the CIOT in 2009 he became Deputy President in 2010 and President in May 2011.
Anthony joined the General Assembly of the Confédération Fiscale Européenne (CFE) in 2008, having an interest in European tax issues, particularly relating to professional standards and ethics. Prior to joining the ATT and CIOT councils, he was a member of the council of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), having chaired their investigations and membership committees, and served as the association’s representative on the Council of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).
His outside interests include skiing, music and travel.
New CIOT Deputy President – Patrick Stevens
Patrick Stevens CTA (Fellow) FCA is a tax practitioner at Ernst & Young LLP. He deals with the taxation of E&Y’s UK and Global organisation. For many years he was managing partner of the Growth Markets part of E&Y’s UK business, covering a wide range of tax areas including entrepreneurial companies, professional partnerships, private clients and retail investment funds.
New CIOT Vice President – Stephen Coleclough
Stephen Coleclough LLB CTA (Fellow) FIIT FRSA FInstCPD is qualified as a solicitor and is partner in indirect taxes at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was Chairman of the CIOT’s Technical Committee from May 2005 to May 2008. Since 2009 he has been President of the Confédération Fiscal Européenne, the body of European tax advisers, which embraces 33 national organisations from 24 European States, representing more than 180,000 tax advisers.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is a charity and the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT’s primary purpose is to promote education and study of the administration and practice of taxation. One of the key aims is to achieve a better, more efficient, tax system for all affected by it – taxpayers, advisers and the authorities.
The CIOT’s comments and recommendations on tax issues are made solely in order to achieve its primary purpose: it is politically neutral in its work. The CIOT will seek to draw on its members’ experience in private practice, government, commerce and industry and academia to argue and explain how public policy objectives (to the extent that these are clearly stated or can be discerned) can most effectively be achieved.
The CIOT’s 15,400 members have the practising title of ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’ and the designatory letters ‘CTA’.
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George Crozier
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