Chancellor George Osborne has set up an Office for the Simplification of Tax which is supposed to help small business. He promised this two years ago and says he has now delivered, adding "The previous Government took a complex tax system and made it even worse. A decade of meddling and intervening has made the tax affairs of millions of families and businesses across the UK extremely complicated. We need to sort out this mess."
The idea is that some 'experts' will look at the 'silly walks' element of the current system and come up with solutions. One of two experts appointed to run it during its first year is former Fylde MP and once Financial Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt Hon Michael Jack.
He says: "Entrepreneurship should never be stifled because of an overly complex tax system. That's why I am delighted that the Government have committed themselves to looking at ways to simplify the tax system, with an initial focus on small businesses. Simplification in a complex world is a real challenge but it's one that has to be addressed if the tax system is not to hinder the economy's ability to grow." Well at least he's doing the work on a voluntary, part-time basis.
If you want to tell the Chancellor what kind of changes you'd like, now is the time. The Treasury says to email him, or his ministerial team, the
address is:
ministers@hm-treasury.gov.uk and to send a letter the address is:
Rt Hon George Osborne MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
