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CIOT, IFS and IfG urge Chancellor to ‘take a new approach to making tax policy’

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Institute for Government (IfG) have urged Chancellor Sajid Javid to ‘take a new approach to making tax policy’.

The groups have co-signed a letter to the Chancellor, in which they urge him to outline the principles and objectives that will inform his tax policy.

In the letter, the groups called for the Chancellor to ‘consult on tax policies at an earlier stage in policy development’, and to ‘professionalise tax policy-making in the Treasury’. They also urged the Chancellor to confirm that there will be ‘no going back’ to the ‘old days of multiple fiscal events’.

Additionally, the groups have called for the Chancellor to ‘consult earlier with a wide group of stakeholders’ on tax matters, and to carry out ‘more systematic evaluation of tax measures’, including tax reliefs. Tax measures must be effectively reviewed to ensure they are ‘achieving their objectives at acceptable cost’, the groups added.

The letter can be read in full here.