Background
The Tax Law Rewrite project
8.In December 1995 the Inland Revenue presented a report to Parliament on the scope for simplifying the UK tax system (The Path to Tax Simplification). The main recommendation was that UK direct tax legislation should be rewritten in clearer, simpler language.
9.This recommendation was warmly welcomed, both in Parliament and in the tax community. In his November 1996 Budget speech the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (the Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP) announced that the Inland Revenue would propose detailed arrangements for a major project to rewrite direct tax legislation in plainer language.
10.The project team has been carrying out this work. The aim is that the rewritten legislation should use simpler language and structure than previous tax legislation. The members of the project are drawn from different backgrounds. They include HMRC employees, private sector tax professionals and parliamentary counsel including (as head of the drafting team) a senior member of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
Steering Committee
11.The work of the project is overseen by a Steering Committee, chaired by the Rt Hon the Lord Newton of Braintree OBE DL. The membership of the Steering Committee as at 19 October 2009 was:
The Rt Hon the Lord Newton of Braintree OBE DL (Chairman)
Dr John Avery Jones CBE
Adam Broke
Nicholas Dee
Dave Hartnett CB
The Rt Hon Michael Jack MP
Eric Joyce MP
District Judge Rachel Karp
Professor John Tiley CBE
John Whiting OBE
Consultative Committee
12.The work is also reviewed by a Consultative Committee, representing the accountancy and legal professions and the interests of taxpayers. The membership of the Consultative Committee as at 19 October 2009 was:
| Robina Dyall | Chairman |
| Adam Broke | Special Committee of Tax Law Consultative Bodies |
| Colin Campbell | Formerly Confederation of British Industry |
| Russell Chaplin | London Chamber of Commerce & Industry |
| Mary Fraser | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants |
| Malcolm Gammie CBE QC | The Law Society |
| Julian Ghosh QC | Revenue Bar Association |
| Keith Gordon | Chartered Institute of Taxation |
| Terry Hopes | Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales |
| Vic Peake | Federation of Small Businesses |
| Isobel d’Inverno | Law Society of Scotland |
| Simon McKie | Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales |
| Lakshmi Narain | Chartered Institute of Taxation |
| Francis Sandison | The Law Society |
| Michael Templeman | Institute of Directors |
| Professor David Williams | Office of the Social Security Commissioners |
| Mervyn Woods | Confederation of British Industry |
Consultation
13.The work produced by the project has been subject to public consultation. This has allowed all interested parties an opportunity to comment on draft clauses.
14.Consultation took the form of a series of papers presenting clauses in draft and documents containing responses to comments received. These were published between September 2007 and October 2009. A draft Bill was published for consultation in March 2009. All these documents are available on the Tax Law Rewrite website.
15.In addition to this consultation the project also presented its papers to the Consultative and Steering Committees to inform them and to seek their views on particular issues. The project also consulted on an informal basis with specialists in particular subject areas.
16.Those who responded in writing to one or more of the papers or to the draft Bill include:
BDO LLP
Bircham Dyson Bell LLP
The British Property Federation
CASCS Development Forum
The Charity Law Association
Chartered Institute of Taxation
Colin Campbell
Confederation of British Industry
Dr David Williams
Ernst & Young LLP
Francis Sandison
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Horwath Clark Whitehill
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
KPMG LLP
Pinsent Masons LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Slaughter and May
The Law Society
The UK Oil Industry Taxation Committee
17.As there was some movement of material between this Act and the Corporation Tax Act 2010 during the course of the work on the Bills, this list includes respondents to both Bills. The list excludes any individuals who requested that their responses be treated in confidence.