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| What Brown REALLY means when he simplifies the tax system |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Friday, 30 March 2007 | |
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In his March 2007 Budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown claimed one of the reasons he is abolishing the 10% tax band is to "simplify" the tax system. By now, anyone familiar with Brown's way of working will be asking, "but who complicated it in the first place?"
 UK firms face 70% more tax legislation In fact, since 2001, the amount of UK tax legislation faced by UK individuals and business has increased by around 70%, according to tax specialists. LexisNexis says that the size of its "Tolley's Yellow Tax Handbook" (widely regarded as the definitive guide to UK taxation) is an indication of the increasing complexity of UK tax legislation. In 2001 the handbook, which details old and new tax legislation to illustrate how the law has changed, contained 5952 pages. By 2006 the number of pages had increased to 9806, spanning four volumes. Following Brown's speech in the March 2007 Budget, LexisNexis estimates that it will need to add a further 400 pages. "This means in the last six years the chancellor has added over 4,000 pages of UK tax legislation," it said. "We calculate that means a 71% increase in taxation complexity. "Tax advisors and businesses have been clamouring for a simplification of the tax system in this year's budget," said Mike Truman, tax expert at the firm. "Instead, the chancellor has persisted with adding complexity that is likely to puzzle and frustrate many businesses." "This year's continued growth in tax legislation gives real credence to fears that British competitiveness is being damaged by a complex and lengthy tax code," he added. What does this mean for UK individuals and businesses? The ever-increasingly complicated tax system causes several problems for those affected:
Whatever claims Brown makes about simplifying the tax system, you can be assured that the opposite is true.         |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 30 March 2007 ) |
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