AAT public affairs and public policy activities: April 2021

Every month AAT summarises some of the key Public Affairs & Public Policy activities undertaken on behalf of our members.

Below you will find some key highlights for April 2021. 

If you would like any further information about any of these issues, please contact Phil Hall, AAT Head of Public Affairs & Public Policy via Twitter or via email.  

Continued increase in Parliamentary recognition of AAT

April saw the results of an independent YouGov poll of MPs find that recognition of AAT has reached its highest level with almost three-quarters of MPs (74%) being aware of AAT. Pleasingly there was also 100% positive sentiment towards the organisation.

This compares to 32% in 2016, 49% in 2017 and 68% in 2018. No polling took place in 2019 owing to the General Election or in 2020 due to the pandemic.

SNP Shadow Chancellor highlights AAT views on Plastic Packaging Tax

Speaking during a House of Commons debate on the 2021 Finance Bill, SNP Shadow Chancellor Alison Thewliss stated that AAT has previously highlighted that the Government’s self-styled “world-leading and ambitious” Plastic Packaging Tax is anything but, given the 30% threshold at which it takes it effect is not only below what many other countries are doing but many individual companies and industries.

Public Accounts Committee criticises HMRC & HM Treasury over approach to environmental taxes whilst referencing AAT

The Public Accounts Committee last week warned that HM Treasury and HMRC have a “very limited view of the role of tax”, with a “limited understanding of the environmental impact” of taxes and were unable to explain to the Committee “how the tax system is used in achieving the government’s environmental goals”.

Their report referenced AAT as follows; “We received written evidence from stakeholders in which they identified tax measures which they said were hindering rather than supporting environmental objectives, including net zero. The Association of Accounting Technicians said there had been several seemingly perverse tax decisions that discouraged the greening of the British economy while raising some revenue. It gave the example of VAT being increased from 5% to 20% on some low carbon items, including most solar panel installations and heat pumps, although VAT on coal to residential properties remained at 5%.”

Read the Environmental Tax Measures report in full and/or AAT’s submission to the Committee.

 

AAT views on Aviation Tax Reform gain national attention

During Treasury Questions in Parliament last month, Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, the Lib Dems Transport & Business spokesperson, drew attention to AAT’s views by asking the Chancellor the following question:

“The Association of Accounting Technicians has published its response to the consultation opened by the Treasury on its plans to reduce air passenger duty, in which it argues that a reduction would be wrong, as it contradicts and greatly weakens government policy on seeking to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050”.

“Why does the Government’s tax policy not support their net zero goals?”

The AAT consultation response on Aviation tax reform was also praised by several leading Economics Professors, business groups, environmental organisations and journalists and should feature in The Sunday Times next week as well as gaining the support of a range of MPs and Peers from the Labour, Green, Liberal Democrat and SNP parties.

Time to regulate the unregulated?

AAT’s ongoing campaign to ensure the third of accountants who are currently unregulated i.e. not members of a professional body, are compelled to be so, gathered pace with a survey of MPs showing that an overwhelming 78% back our recommendation.

Engagement with all other relevant professional bodies on the subject has also taken place at various levels and AAT has submitted its response to the current Government consultation on the subject weeks ahead of schedule.

The issue has also been raised in Parliament with Labour Peer Lord Mendelsohn asking the Government a series of questions on AAT’s recommendations.

Parliamentary engagement

Engagement with 12 Parliamentarians in April centred on subjects including Aviation Tax Reform, unregulated accountants and Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting.

Non-Parliamentary engagement

Engagement with almost 80 external stakeholders took place in April. These included most other professional accountancy and tax bodies, the OTS, IFS, officials at HMRC and HM Treasury, KPMG, CBI, FSB and others on issues ranging from unregulated accountants, road pricing and Air Passenger Duty to Making Tax Digital and much, much more.

AAT consultations, calls for evidence & inquiry responses

AAT responded to the HMRC consultation on Raising Standards in the Tax Advice Market (unregulated accountants and compulsory insurance), the HM Treasury consultation on Aviation Tax Reform and the Treasury Select Committee inquiry into Jobs, Growth & Productivity.

These and other responses can be viewed on the AAT Policy page.

Other meetings, events and engagements

• Participated in the regular HMRC Virtual Communications Group (VCG)
• Represented AAT at the regular Trade Associations meeting hosted by the Federation of Small Businesses
• Undertook more than a dozen radio interviews relating to AAT’s recommendation that anyone offering paid-for tax or accountancy services should be obliged to be a member of a relevant professional body
• Adam Harper and I both participated in the HMRC annual stakeholder conference
• Adam Harper attended the Representative Bodies Steering Group (RBSG), the PCRT PII expert group and met with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) together with  AAT Council member Georgia Duffee
• I joined the CIOT and IFS Online Debate: How high should the corporate tax rate be?