Technical Newsdesk: September 2026

The government’s Tax Update Day and L Day brought a large number of consultations and technical papers with very short timescales. This squeezing of timeframes for our consideration and response is a worrying trend when so much scrutiny and feedback is needed on policy proposals and draft legislation, especially when they are published as both staff and volunteers are taking much-needed summer holidays.

The CIOT Technical and LITRG teams have, however, submitted several responses, ranging from commentary on the new Timely Payments in Income Tax Self-Assessment proposals and the International Controlled Transaction Schedule to the High Value Council Tax Surcharge. I am very grateful to all our members and volunteers who gave us the insight and feedback needed to respond to such a wide range of topics despite the timelines and time of year.

L Day was quickly followed by the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer and the appointment of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister, John Healey as Chancellor and James Murray as the new Financial Secretary to the Treasury (FST). We wrote to the FST setting out what we think are the key areas of the tax system warranting his attention and, separately, to draw his attention to the practical challenges posed by the rules relating to inheritance tax on pensions. We look forward to building on the constructive relationship we had with him during his previous Treasury and shadow FST roles. Our focus has now shifted to Budget Day on 28 October.

In other activity, Emma Rawson (ATT Director of Public Policy) and I were pleased to launch our new co-hosted podcast ‘Tax Breaks’ in August. Over the five weekly episodes, we discuss several of the ways in which tax policy is shaped and influenced through stakeholder engagement. You can find the episodes on the CIOT and ATT websites here.

Episode 1, released on 5 August, is an interview with JP Marks, HMRC’s Permanent Secretary and CEO. JP talks about his vision for HMRC to work in the open (as well as giving an insight into his favourite takeaway!). I will not give any spoilers for the rest of the mini-series but if you do listen, I hope you find the episodes interesting, and we look forward to hearing what you think!

Ellen Milner
Director of Public Policy, CIOT
[email protected]