Former chair of the Public Accounts Committee Margaret Hodge MBE has called for an overhaul of legislation surrounding taxation, saying there needed to be ‘better, clearer and fewer laws’ and arguing for a ‘moral approach’ to tax. Speaking at an annual UK tax investigations conference organised by tax investigation insurance company PfP, she said the current system was ‘far too complex’ and difficult to understand, and that it suffered from a lack of transparency.
While Hodge said she was ‘uncomfortable’ with retrospective tax legislation, she was critical of what she saw as the over-use of tax reliefs, emphasising the potential they create for abuse and underpayment. She said it was especially important for the wealthiest in society to abide by the rules and pay the amount of tax that they owe in full, and that the favourable terms offered by disclosure facilities such as the LDF were ‘outrageous’.
As well as criticising what she perceived to be HMRC’s slow and cautious approach to challenging large companies, Hodge called for more ‘naming and shaming’. She argued that financial advisers had a moral obligation to make the right judgment and ensure ‘that they take into account parliament’s intention’ when advising on law, and that ‘the same level of integrity should apply’ when supplying technical advice to HMRC and other policymakers to ensure that all loopholes are closed.
Former chair of the Public Accounts Committee Margaret Hodge MBE has called for an overhaul of legislation surrounding taxation, saying there needed to be ‘better, clearer and fewer laws’ and arguing for a ‘moral approach’ to tax. Speaking at an annual UK tax investigations conference organised by tax investigation insurance company PfP, she said the current system was ‘far too complex’ and difficult to understand, and that it suffered from a lack of transparency.
While Hodge said she was ‘uncomfortable’ with retrospective tax legislation, she was critical of what she saw as the over-use of tax reliefs, emphasising the potential they create for abuse and underpayment. She said it was especially important for the wealthiest in society to abide by the rules and pay the amount of tax that they owe in full, and that the favourable terms offered by disclosure facilities such as the LDF were ‘outrageous’.
As well as criticising what she perceived to be HMRC’s slow and cautious approach to challenging large companies, Hodge called for more ‘naming and shaming’. She argued that financial advisers had a moral obligation to make the right judgment and ensure ‘that they take into account parliament’s intention’ when advising on law, and that ‘the same level of integrity should apply’ when supplying technical advice to HMRC and other policymakers to ensure that all loopholes are closed.
