Politicians face a simple choice – either raise taxes or help the taxman get the money he is owed

Politicians of every party face a stark choice between raising taxes or properly resourcing HMRC if they are to raise the revenue needed to stabilise the UK economy, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has claimed.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at ACCA, said ahead of the Conservative Party Conference starting on Sunday 28 September: “Taxes will almost certainly rise, no matter which political party comes into power at the next General Election.

“We believe that, in order to raise the money needed to provide the services required, politicians must consider either raising VAT to 21 per cent, increasing National Insurance Contributions (NIC) or lowering the threshold at which inheritance tax (IHT) becomes payable” he said.

“None of these increases would be popular with the electorate and changes to NIC, which could be seen as a tax on employers, or IHT, would not raise the money needed – leaving a VAT hike –paid by everyone - as the ‘least worst’ option.  But there is an alternative – which is to provide more funding for HMRC to enable it to collect billions of pounds in unpaid tax.

“HMRC itself estimates that £30 billion is lost to the Treasury each year through tax evasion, which is illegal, and through avoidance, which is not but is made possible by complex legislation. HMRC urgently needs investment to enable it to pursue tax avoidance and evasion more effectively and deal with the intricacies of tax legislation and it is an issue which politicians should address before they begin to think about raising taxes for hard-pressed businesses and the honest majority,” said Chas Roy-Chowdhury.

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Notes to Editors1.      ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.2.      We support our 170,000 members and 436,000 students in 180 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of 91 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.3.      Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.