Finance Bill 'a Result of Simplification', says Whiting

THE DRAFT Finance Bill represents a positive move towards proper tax policy making, the tax director of the Office offor Tax Simplification has said.

The 1,100-page document was published today. The majority of the provisions in the bill were announced in the Budget and have been consulted on throughout the summer.

John Whiting, tax director at the OTS (pictured), said: "This shows how much we need proper consultative processes. The fact that the vast majority of this has been consulted on makes it easier to deal with and you have more confidence it is right."

A Finance Bill does not necessarily have to be small to be manageable, he added.

However, Nigel May, tax partner at MHA Macintyre Hudson, said the size of the bill does cause problems. "If this is simplification, who knows what is complication." The size of this bill is even bigger than those published under Gordon Brown as Labour chancellor, he added.