Lexis®Library update: The changes proposed by HMRC were intended to:
- improve standards for professional tax advisers
- provide consumers with greater protections
- boost confidence in tax advice
The Law Society agrees that introduction of a requirement for anyone providing tax advice to have professional indemnity insurance would satisfy the policy aims of improving trust in the tax advice market, by targeting poor behaviour and allowing taxpayers greater redress when things go wrong.
The Law Society recommends that, further to the requirement for tax advisers to maintain PII at a level determined by HMRC, there should also be transparency rules, which would ensure that consumers have accurate and relevant information about a tax adviser when they are considering purchasing tax advice. This should help members of the public and small businesses make informed choices, improving competition in the tax advice market.
The Law Society supports HMRC’s intentions and believes that, properly implemented, a requirement for all tax advisers to carry a minimum level of cover should achieve its objectives. However, there are already large numbers of tax advisers who are members of regulated professions, including solicitors, who are already subject to minimum requirements for PII and many additional checks on their activities.
The Law Society is concerned to make sure that, if HMRC does bring in mandatory PII, the new regime will not create any additional burdens on regulated professionals whose existing obligations meet or exceed the new requirements.
See Simon’s Taxes: A1.803
Source: HMRC consultation on raising standards in the tax advice market – Law Society response
This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 16 June 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.co.uk.
