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This is not the first time fees have been charged for access to ET and EAT claims, however, the proposals will differ significantly from those introduced in 2013. The 2013 fee scheme saw ET claims charged up to £390 for a simple claim and up to £1,200 for a more complex claim. R (Unison) v The Lord Chancellor [2017] saw the Supreme Court deem the fees unlawful as they prevented access to justice to those unable to afford them. Additionally, they saw that the fees were indirectly discriminatory as women and those with protected characteristics were more likely to bring cases that attracted the higher fees, such as discrimination cases. The new fee structure proposed is a £55 issue fee that would represent the full passage through the ET process. For the EAT process a £55 fee would be payable for each judgement, decision, direction or order from the ET being appealed.
Full remission of fees will be available for some individuals under the Help with Fees (HwF) scheme. The government sets out why it believes the fees proposed are proportionate and examples of where fee remission would be available.
The consultation notes that since the 2013 fee scheme was quashed cases have increased from around 18,000 in 2016/17 to around 33,000 in 2022/23. With tribunal wait times getting longer, is the government attempting to reduce the number of claims to a more manageable level? However, the MoJ state that the funds could be used to help fund the mostly taxpayer funded Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). The fees introduction could also promote individuals to settle disputes early through ACAS, alleviating pressure on the ET system.
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Tax Administration reform: government update Published: 19 February 2024 Emailed: 21 February 2024
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has released a new consultation and a response to previous consultations around the Tax Administration Framework Review (TAFR).
The new consultation, The Tax Administration Framework Review: enquiry and assessment powers, penalties, safeguards, looks at what HMRC can do to reform the powers it has to enforce and encourage compliance. These powers serve the main purpose of ensuring taxpayer rights are protected and that correct tax revenues are collected.
This consultation is open until 9 May 2024. Have your say by responding to the questions posed or let us know your thoughts for inclusion in our response by using the “Have Your Say” box on the news pages.
Also released was the outcome to the previous consultation, Simplifying and modernising HMRC’s Income Tax services through the tax administration framework review, which closed on 7 June 2024.
The summary of responses covers the questions raised detailing how the 39 written responses viewed the proposals. CIPP members can read our response on the consultation responses page.
As a result of these responses HMRC seeks to improve the tax system in a number of ways. For a full breakdown please see the documentation released, however below is an excerpt from the response showing where HMRC believes improvement can be made:
“ The improvements include: •
putting taxpayers on the correct tax code more quickly following a change of circumstances; • the development of a digital self-serve tool that will allow taxpayers to view their Income Tax position and claim or declare income, allowances, benefits, and deductions; • improvements to HMRC’s ‘Check if you need to send a Self Assessment tax return’ tool; • improving and expanding digital registration services for ITSA; • continuing to review the criteria HMRC uses to determine who needs to file an ITSA return.
The government intends to make some legislative amendments to facilitate the increased use of digital channels. These include changes to:
cipp.org.uk
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