ATT Welcome: Raising public awareness
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I am extremely proud of being a member of ATT – which is one of the reasons I volunteered to become involved with the Association. One of the big advantages of volunteering is seeing at first hand the work that ATT carries out both for its members and to meet its charitable objectives. A members’ organisation and a charity are interesting bedfellows, yet it works. At all times, we must remain aware of our charitable objectives; one of our key objectives is to ‘advance public education in and promote the study of the administration and practice of taxation’.
One way we achieve this is by the incredible work carried out by our technical team. Under the guidance of our Director of Public Policy Emma Rawson, we now have six technical officers – Helen Thornley, David Wright, Steven Pinhey, Autumn Murphy, Chris Campbell and Senga Prior – working tirelessly on behalf of the Association. Senga’s name will, of course, be familiar to you as a former President of the ATT, and I know she shares my pride in what we achieve.
What makes the ATT stand out from other organisations is its engagement where it matters, including in the public domain. Emma recently summed up our overarching goal – we want to be the go-to organisation for ‘Practical Tax Matters”.
As you are all aware, MTD for Income Tax is being introduced from next April. This will be hugely significant for our members, as well as for the business community and landlords affected by this change. Senga is currently on secondment to HMRC, working with the civil servants to share her considerable practical knowledge in the theoretical world of the department. This can only be to the benefit of members and the public.
Our officers regularly appear in the media talking about tax. This is not easy, as we know tax is challenging (as well as being fun!) and it is difficult to convey simple, clear messages. Recently, I listened to Emma on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. The interviewer clearly had a list of questions she was going to ask and stuck rigidly to her script! Yet Emma delivered her points clearly and professionally.
Helen seems to be a favourite of Money Box, and on many a Saturday lunchtime I have heard her explaining the latest new tax ideas with clarity. When asked if it was fair that dividends are taxed at a lower rate then other income, she explained that this was because dividends are paid out of profits after corporation tax. The presenter Paul Lewis replied: ‘Yes, I have heard some people use that argument before.’ A good argument, I'd say! Not all of our engagement is with Radio 4 – we also feature on other radio stations, television and various newspapers and magazines. You’ll find the highlights in the Briefings section in every issue of Tax Adviser!
Another way we engage is though our schools programme. We regularly attend schools, universities and careers fairs to promote a career in tax or to explain to young people how taxation affects their daily lives, this engagement is vital to increasing public awareness. We have a good selection of resources available, so if you are interested in helping with this project then please contact us.
If you want to see some of the technical team in action, then why not sign up for the joint ATT/AAT Sharpen your Tax Skills Virtual Tax Conference. There is a choice of Wednesday 3 or Tuesday 9 December. The afternoon presentations are by the technical team, who will provide a practical insight into diverse matters such as sole trader updates, employee benefits and the dreaded penalties. I will be presenting the morning session, focusing on recent changes including the Budget the week before. My talk will not be a re-run of the Budget but will look at its impact from a practical perspective. Discounts on the course fees are available for ATT members so head to our website and book now.
The technical team welcome engagement from members. They cannot answer technical questions but if there are recurring compliance issues then do let the team know. We have good access to those people in HMRC who can make a difference and whilst we do not have a magic wand, armed with those pivotal problems we can try and get practical solutions.
I started by saying how proud I am to be an ATT member. Thinking about the work our technical team do, just makes me even prouder.