Criticism of the way tax law is made has been voiced by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 2000.
It notes that:
- the 101 hours of parliamentary time devoted to debating Finance Act 1999 led to just seven non-government amendments;
- the 1999 Act was more than three times the size of the 1978 Act, yet there was 30% less time spent on the 1999 Act;
- only seven clauses (11%) of the 1978 Act were not debated at all, compared with 45 clauses (37%) of the 1999 Act;
- most amendments arise by the tax authorities correcting mistakes or changing their minds;
- much tax law is now delegated legislation. Inland Revenue made 17% of tax law, and Customs and Excise 37% of tax law. This delegated law does not have parliamentary scrutiny.
It criticises parliament for wasting time on political point-scoring rather than informed debate on the merits of proposals. It makes four proposals:
- split the Finance Bill into two. One would be a technical bill containing provisions which do not require Budget secrecy and could thus be introduced earlier;
- involve the House of Lords in scrutinising tax law;
- form a small committee of MPs with tax expertise to look at detailed provisions leaving the standing committee to consider major points of policy or controversy;
- restrict secondary legislation to small administrative matters.
[2000]