Tax & Accounting News

Tax Code Grows By 150% In 12 Years

29/09/2009

The rulebook covering UK taxes is twice the size it was in 1997, according to financial publishers LexisNexis.

This year’s edition of Tolley’s Yellow Tax Handbook weighs in at 11,520 pages, compared to 4,998 pages when Labour came to power 12 years ago.

Tax experts said the increase highlighted the increasing complexity of the tax system in the UK, which had been exacerbated by the government’s recent attempts to raise extra cash in the recession, for example by removing tax relief on pension contributions for higher earners.

Mike Truman from LexisNexis said: “The complexity of the UK tax system has been increasing the burden of compliance on businesses and individuals alike for many years.

“There is a desperate need to curb the temptation of all Chancellors to meddle with the tax system, and to focus instead on removing unnecessary complexity.”