Why we need a tax law commission

Article by John Whiting, CIOT President 2001-2002. This article appeared in the December 2005 issue of Tax Adviser. One of the fundamental things that the CIOT has always stood for is a better tax system. This doesn't mean that we encourage the government of the day to collect more taxes, but that we work towards a system that is 'better' in a variety of ways - easier to understand, less complex for the taxpayer and the adviser - and one that fundamentally bears less heavily on all those concerned. We know, understand and support the fact that taxes have to be paid; the goose, to paraphrase Colbert, must expect feathers to be plucked but our argument is that those feathers should be plucked in as painless a way as possible, and that the goose should have a say in how the feathers are to be taken, how many and when - in other words, consultation.

Technical Department
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December 2005 by John Whiting