ATT Welcome: A well-deserved success!

You may recall that in last month’s issue of Tax Adviser, I mentioned that ATT had been nominated for an award at this year’s Tolley’s Taxation Awards. The nomination was for the work done by our excellent Technical Team and was in the category Outstanding Contribution to Taxation in 2022-23 by a Not-for-profit Organisation.

I was lucky enough to be among 700 or so guests to have attended the awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel Hyde Park and I am delighted to let you know that in a public vote ATT was the winner in the category. Many congratulations to all of the team for this well-deserved success. It is great to have the work of the team recognised in such a prestigious setting. Many thanks to everyone who voted for us.

Talking of events, I attended the Joint Presidents’ lunch in Edinburgh, along with fellow Officers from ATT and CIOT. It was an important opportunity to meet and develop relationships with policy makers (officials and parliamentarians), major employers, journalists and other leading figures in the tax profession in Scotland.

The guest speaker was Shona Robison MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance. It was particularly pleasing to hear that she is keen to engage with and listen to – even if not always to agree with – those who represent taxpayers in Scotland.

This is particularly important given the divergence in tax rates between Scotland and the rest of the UK, a policy that is likely to continue if press reports are to be believed. The Deputy First Minister also touched on the subject of simplification and echoed the CIOT and ATT’s concern that the decision to abolish the Office of Tax Simplification had not been reversed in the recent budget – although with five different positive rates of tax on non-savings income in Scotland (two more than in the rest of the UK), there doesn’t seem to be any move towards simplification here.

Feedback from events such as these is really valuable as it helps us to make key strategic decisions and shape the future of the Association.

Looking forward to the month ahead, on 15 June my fellow Officers and I will be attending the ATT admission ceremony at the Law Society in Chancery Lane, London, where we will be delighted to welcome those who have recently become members of the Association. This is one of the highlights of the ATT calendar and it is particularly pleasing to be able to share the event not only with our new members who have put in a huge amount of hard work to pass the examinations and develop their careers, but also with their friends and family who will have supported them throughout.

And on the subject of new members (and not forgetting those of you who have been members for a while), the first week in June marks the occasion of Volunteers’ Week 2023. All ATT Council and Steering Group members and those on Branch Committees are volunteers and we are always interested to hear from anyone who would like to get involved. We are interested in hearing from people with a range of backgrounds and skills who bring a wealth of different views to ensure that the whole of the ATT’s diverse membership is well represented. The fact that you haven’t been a member for very long is no barrier, as it’s important that the views of our new members are heard as well. It’s a great way of expanding your network, gaining new skills, and helping to influence the future of the tax profession.

If you are interested, or simply curious to find out what might be involved, please do get in touch with Jane Ashton at jashton@att.org.uk. You will be sure to receive a warm welcome.

Once again, I would like to remind you about the upcoming ATT Annual conferences. You can either attend the conference in person on 29 June as a full day event or join it as two morning half day online sessions on 21 and 23 June. It is an excellent way of keeping up to date with the latest developments but also helps to fulfil your CPD responsibilities. Our speakers will be Rebecca Benneyworth, and Helen Thornley, Emma Rawson and Stephen Pinhey from our excellent (and award winning!) Technical Team.