OECD tax study

The OECD's Forum on Tax Administration has published its study on tax intermediaries, and the role they play in the operation of tax systems and in unacceptable tax minimisation arrangements.

Tax intermediaries are, on the one hand, tax advisers and, on the other, banks and other financial institutions.

Tax advisers are those in law, accounting and other professional firms that provide sophisticated tax advice and other services such as compliance, tax accounting, business and economic tax planning and dispute resolution. In general, tax advisers come out of the study pretty well as the suppliers of tax advice, and better than their clients, the taxpayers, who are pegged as the drivers of the demand for unacceptable tax planning.

Banks and other financial institutions come bottom of the heap, but it is unclear why it took a transnational effort, lasting some 15 months, to establish the blindingly obvious. What next; a study into whether the Pope is Catholic ?

The study concentrates on a tripartite tax environment; comprising the Revenue authorities, the tax intermediaries and the taxpayers. Whilst there is passing mention of governments, it is shame that the remit of the study did not extend to the proper consideration of the role of governments as policy makers and legislators. With the UK Revenue taking a leading role in the study whilst, at the same time, being given any number of turds to polish by its own political masters, there would have been a good opportunity to examine the role of government as the ultimate promoter, and cause, of unacceptable tax abuses.