The Treasury announces updates to tax policy consulation and calls for evidence as a result of COVID-19
29 April 2020
A Written Ministerial Statement has been released by HM Treasury, which gives an update on current tax policy consultations and calls for evidence, and confirms that the closing dates for some have been extended due to coronavirus.
The HMRC Charter Consultation will now close on 15 August 2020, and the Call for evidence on raising standards in the tax market will close on 28 August 2020.
The extensions have been implemented because the government recognises that many stakeholders are experiencing significant disruption as a result of COVID-19. The additional time will ensure that more stakeholders have the opportunity to respond and share their views.
Most of the eleven tax policy consultations and calls for evidence announced at Budget 2020 have been extended for a duration of three months. Despite the change to closing dates, the government is continuing to encourage stakeholders to respond as soon as they can, where possible.
The intention to publish a range of other tax policy documents was also announced at Budget 2020 but the government is considering each on a case-by-case basis, in light of COVID-19. The government aims to continue publishing some of these documents through Spring and Summer, and this includes the consultation on proposals for a National Insurance Contributions holiday for employers who employ veterans. The release of other documents will be delayed until the Autumn, and there are still additional documents that the government is yet to provide further detail on. The current position is that the additional detail will be released in due course.
The status of tax policy documents can be monitored via the public consultations tracker.
CIPP comment
As a result of the additional response times, the CIPP is exploring the possibility of creating surveys and holding virtual thinktank roundtable meetings for both the HMRC Charter Consultation and the Call for evidence on raising standards in the tax market.
Further information will be published on News Online in due course, but to register your interest in advance, please contact the Policy team at [email protected].
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