One minute with Emma Rawson, Technical Officer at the ATT.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
The main thing is Making Tax Digital (MTD), which I’ve been involved with since my first day at the ATT. It finally looks like MTD ITSA might happen in 2026, but there’s lots to be done before then both in terms of HMRC engagement and agent readiness.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
One big thing would be more resources to HMRC – not just for compliance, but to support taxpayers and agents in getting it right. In the run up to the election, all the main parties talked about cracking down on avoidance, but the main drivers of the tax gap are actually errors and failure to take reasonable care. These are harder to tackle and less headline grabbing, but better support and guidance would be a good start.
If I had to pick one small thing, it would be to make information about whether a building is subject to a VAT option to tax available online – something, we (and others) have been requesting for some time. Although relatively minor, it would save businesses, agents and HMRC significant time and effort.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
Don’t be afraid to take a leap. I trained in the Big 4, and it can be hard to leave that defined career path and promotion structure. I’m very glad I did though – my role at ATT has given me opportunities I never would have imagined.
Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem?
Basis period reform is causing real problems in practice. This was legislated for in FA 2022, so it isn’t exactly new. However, we’re just now in the process of preparing the first self-assessment returns affected by the transitional rules, and issues continue to come out of the woodwork.
The transitional rules are very complicated, and although the reform is specific to income tax and only affects a relatively small proportion of taxpayers, its tendrils spread quite widely across the tax and benefits system. As a result, it’s rare that a week goes by without some new query coming to me. As and when I get answers to these, I add them to our dedicated FAQs on the ATT website.
Has a recent tax case caught your eye?
I found the recent Upper Tribunal decision in RALC Consulting Ltd [2024] UKUT 99 (TCC) interesting, partly because, unlike many IR35 cases, it didn’t feature a celebrity but an IT contractor. The number of IR35 cases coming through is a symptom of just how complex employment status decisions can be. Hopefully the much awaited Supreme Court decision in Professional Game Match Officials Ltd will give us more of a steer.
What are ATT members currently asking about?
HMRC performance continues to be a real concern. Whilst we support digitalisation of the tax system, HMRC’s digital services are simply not yet up to scratch. Members are understandably frustrated that, when they need to, they can’t get hold of the right person in HMRC to deal with their queries. If they could see and do everything online that they need to do, they would – nobody enjoys waiting months for letters to be answered or being left hanging on the Agent Dedicated Line.
You might not know this about me but...
I speak pretty decent Italian. This isn’t due to any particular business or personal connection to Italy, but rather my love of the country. I’ve built my knowledge over the years through a combination of self-teaching and conversation classes. This means that whilst I can order a meal and have a nice chat about the weather, you wouldn’t want me to translate a contract for you.
One minute with Emma Rawson, Technical Officer at the ATT.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
The main thing is Making Tax Digital (MTD), which I’ve been involved with since my first day at the ATT. It finally looks like MTD ITSA might happen in 2026, but there’s lots to be done before then both in terms of HMRC engagement and agent readiness.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
One big thing would be more resources to HMRC – not just for compliance, but to support taxpayers and agents in getting it right. In the run up to the election, all the main parties talked about cracking down on avoidance, but the main drivers of the tax gap are actually errors and failure to take reasonable care. These are harder to tackle and less headline grabbing, but better support and guidance would be a good start.
If I had to pick one small thing, it would be to make information about whether a building is subject to a VAT option to tax available online – something, we (and others) have been requesting for some time. Although relatively minor, it would save businesses, agents and HMRC significant time and effort.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
Don’t be afraid to take a leap. I trained in the Big 4, and it can be hard to leave that defined career path and promotion structure. I’m very glad I did though – my role at ATT has given me opportunities I never would have imagined.
Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem?
Basis period reform is causing real problems in practice. This was legislated for in FA 2022, so it isn’t exactly new. However, we’re just now in the process of preparing the first self-assessment returns affected by the transitional rules, and issues continue to come out of the woodwork.
The transitional rules are very complicated, and although the reform is specific to income tax and only affects a relatively small proportion of taxpayers, its tendrils spread quite widely across the tax and benefits system. As a result, it’s rare that a week goes by without some new query coming to me. As and when I get answers to these, I add them to our dedicated FAQs on the ATT website.
Has a recent tax case caught your eye?
I found the recent Upper Tribunal decision in RALC Consulting Ltd [2024] UKUT 99 (TCC) interesting, partly because, unlike many IR35 cases, it didn’t feature a celebrity but an IT contractor. The number of IR35 cases coming through is a symptom of just how complex employment status decisions can be. Hopefully the much awaited Supreme Court decision in Professional Game Match Officials Ltd will give us more of a steer.
What are ATT members currently asking about?
HMRC performance continues to be a real concern. Whilst we support digitalisation of the tax system, HMRC’s digital services are simply not yet up to scratch. Members are understandably frustrated that, when they need to, they can’t get hold of the right person in HMRC to deal with their queries. If they could see and do everything online that they need to do, they would – nobody enjoys waiting months for letters to be answered or being left hanging on the Agent Dedicated Line.
You might not know this about me but...
I speak pretty decent Italian. This isn’t due to any particular business or personal connection to Italy, but rather my love of the country. I’ve built my knowledge over the years through a combination of self-teaching and conversation classes. This means that whilst I can order a meal and have a nice chat about the weather, you wouldn’t want me to translate a contract for you.
