Saturday, May 10, 2008

Tax Simplification

In 1965 the Chancellor (Jim Callaghan) introduced his Budget Speech with the prophecy that he would so simplify the system that accountants would be put out of business. The 1965 Budget is particularly memorable as it introduced two new concepts - Corporation tax and Capital gains tax.

Adam Broke recalls that the Chancellor's ambitions were thwarted by the inclusion in his proposals of "small minded concepts such as close companies". As a result, Adam, a newly married breadwinner, spent only milliseconds worrying whether he had chosen the wrong career.

It seems that little has changed as recent Budgets that have purported to introduce simplicity into the tax system are also bedevilled by undue complexity, oversights and 'small minded concepts'.

Adam's recollections appear in the May 2008 issue of the ICAEW Tax Faculty's Taxline publication.

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