Press release on Finance Bill 2002, issued on 25 April 2002. Contacts: John Whiting: 020 7804 4422 (O); 07710 027 595 (mobile)
Bianca Marsden: 020 7235 9381
At 488 pages the new Finance Bill is the third longest in history. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) welcomes many of the measures contained in the Bill, such as substantial shareholdings, intellectual property and R&D tax credits, but is concerned that these could be outweighed by the administrative burdens on businesses.
John Whiting, CIOT President, said:
“The size and complexity of the Finance Bill emphasizes how critical it is to have full consultation over a proper period on all tax changes. The Finance Bill is manageable because so much of it has been exposed and commented on already. But for that, advisers and business would all be utterly floored.”
The CIOT stresses that changes to the tax system need to keep a balance between the tax impact and the administrative burdens imposed by the changes.
John Whiting continued:
“When you bear in mind the fact that the Finance Bill does not include key NIC and Tax Credit measures, nor some of the VAT changes, all those involved with the tax system have an enormous amount to deal with over the coming months.”
This information has been provided for you by the Technical Department of the CIOT. Please address any queries to Bianca Marsden on tel 020 7235 9381.
