We need better MPs

24 Oct 2022

This isn't about the revolving door at no 10, it's about tax law, which is created by MPs. There are too many dullards in Parliament.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax has called for the UK's tax system to be simplified and more resources spent on pursuing tax avoiders. That started out OK, but if you pass laws that enable or encourage tax avoidance, you can't “pursue” people behaving within the law. One MP who suffers from either imprecise English of statutory ignorance, Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake pointed to Treasury Select Committee figures showing every £1 spent on enforcement collects £26 in extra revenue. Enforcing the law is a good idea, I'm all for that. More should be spent on enforcement, he argues, particularly chasing financial advisors that facilitate tax avoidance schemes. Oops, he doesn't understand that ISAs, VCTs, and accelerated tax allowances (among others) are tax avoidance devised by and enshrined in law by MPs. In my other life I am a financial advisor that facilitate tax avoidance schemes in that I promote and advise on ISAs, Inheritance Tax-efficient savings and the like. Probably I could be sued by clients if I didn't. He noted that few advisors are ever prosecuted, due to a reluctance – on the part of HMRC and the Treasury – to pursue accountants and other professionals through the courts. By now this poor man is totally confused between what he voted for and voted against, but maybe he should arrest himself for being associated with the enactment of legislation enabling tax avoidance (which is legal as opposed to tax evasion, which isn't). He then goes on to note that advisors who have been sanctioned for tax fraud are still able to practice as there is no licensing body for those advising on tax affairs, which should come as a considerable surprise to HMRC (although they don't do it very well). In fact the only useful thing the Rt. Hon Hollinrake from his grandly named committee has come up with is that multinationals that avoid paying UK taxes undermine trust in the system, leading small businesspeople to consider the game “rigged in favour of the big guys.” So sort out the system and get your facts right!