Technical Newsdesk: September 2025

I have not taken on Richard’s old role in full; we are recruiting a new CIOT technical team senior manager, and I will focus on the strategic parts of the Head of Tax Technical role, including how we operationalise our Public Awareness Strategy, which was set last year by CIOT Council.

CIOT held its Parliamentary Reception on 30 June, with speeches from Craig Mackinlay (Lord Mackinlay of Richborough), our parliamentary sponsor, Shadow Financial Secretary Gareth Davies MP and Exchequer Secretary James Murray MP. There was some good-natured political banter between the three speakers but what really struck me was the way all of them spoke about the CIOT and the impact that our work has had on their work as MPs. All three commented on the impressive quality and breadth of work by the technical team, our committees and volunteers, and they highly praised LITRG’s work on behalf of unrepresented taxpayers. This leaves me in no doubt as to the remarkable role the CIOT’s technical function plays in delivering a better tax system, informing and influencing decision makers and supporting taxpayers and agents.

But this success does not come without its challenges as the tax system continues to grow and become more complex, and the government and HMRC change at an increased pace as they try to deliver on their digital first strategy. Other changes, such as the increased use of AI, the way people get their information, the growth of online platforms and the ageing population, also affect the work we do.

In his introduction to the HMRC  transformation roadmap, the Exchequer Secretary has challenged HMRC to go ‘faster’, to be more ‘agile’, to use a test and learn approach and to experiment more. HM Treasury published a policy paper ‘Tax Policy Making Principles’ in June 2025, which talks of more flexible engagement arrangements in the development of tax policy with a new agile approach to consultation.

More than ever, we need to prioritise our technical work, focus our efforts on those priorities and use our (limited) resources in the most impactful way. Our work must be targeted and adaptable as HMRC and government change the way they work and engage. Understanding our wide-ranging audiences is essential, as is determining how we can best engage with different groups (whether as listener or educator) to most effectively fulfil our charitable objectives.

I will be focusing on these strategic questions and considering how we share and leverage expertise to achieve closer collaboration across our technical function, including drawing on the expertise of our committees. Please share your thoughts and ideas about how we can maximise the exceptional expertise of both our members and technical teams (or to use a quote from the last Finance Bill debates ‘the now-famous CIOT’) to make the biggest positive difference to the UK tax system.