As I reported in my summer summary posting, I have been appointed as the representative for the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) on the HMRC Working Together project.
If you haven’t heard of the project before, Working Together (WT) is a partnership between HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the six main agent representative bodies which looks for ways to improve HMRC’s operations for the benefit of tax agents, their clients and HMRC.
The six main professional bodies are:
Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT)
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Key objectives of the local WT groups are to:
– Improve two-way communications between HMRC and tax agents.
– Identify and clarify issues which can be escalated in real time.
– Help HMRC focus on the best way to help tax agents and their clients.
– Be open and exchange views on how the tax system works.
Agents who attend the meetings are asked to bring discussion items from their colleagues with them, and feed back to them after each meeting.
Last Friday saw me attend my first meeting as the ATT’s representative, held at Tolworth Tower in Surrey.
Whilst the details are covered under the Chatham House rule, it was an excellent meeting and I am looking forward to working with the group.
We hold regular meetings, and there is another one later this year.
If you are a local agent covered by the ATT please do contact me with any issues you may be experiencing with HMRC, so that I can report on them at the next meeting.