Should Tax Agents be Members of a Professional Body?

HMRC has opened a consultation to discuss the government’s intention to raise standards in the tax advice market through a strengthened regulatory framework. This includes whether the government should introduce a requirement for paid tax practitioners to be a member of a recognised professional body that supervises their professional standards.

The consultation sets out three possible approaches to strengthening the framework: mandatory membership of a recognised professional body; joint HMRC/industry enforcement; and regulation by a separate statutory government body.

The consultation also explores approaches to strengthen the controls on access to HMRC’s services for tax practitioners. It also seeks views on which groups of tax practitioners should be in scope or excluded from the proposed option.

Responses to the consultation and enquiries can be emailed to raisingstandardsconsultation@hmrc.gov.uk. It will run for 12 weeks, to 29 May 2024.