The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has urged the government to address complexities as it considers changes to the UK’s uncertain tax treatment (UTT) rules.
The ICAEW’s response to the consultation supports action to narrow the tax gap, but it says new measures must be tightly focused and avoid imposing excessive compliance burdens.
The current regime requires large businesses to notify HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) when their interpretation of tax law differs from HMRC’s stated view.
Ministers are consulting on extending these rules to individuals and trusts, and on bringing additional taxes into scope.
The ICAEW said individuals and trusts should not be included until HMRC has finished reviewing personal tax offshore anti-avoidance legislation and any resulting reforms are in place.
It also noted that many individuals and trusts do not have a dedicated HMRC customer compliance manager, unlike large corporates, which could make the regime harder to operate.
The institute backed, in principle, extending UTT to capital gains tax.
However, it said stamp duty land tax should only be added after improving anti-avoidance rules and guidance to reduce uncertainty.
The ICAEW rejected extending the regime to the construction industry scheme, national insurance contributions and inheritance tax.
On inheritance tax, it called for clearer HMRC guidance rather than inclusion in UTT, warning that this would otherwise increase complexity.
The consultation also proposes a new trigger requiring notification where HMRC’s view is unknown and there is more than one credible interpretation of the law.
The ICAEW said it does not support this, arguing that speculative interpretations already conflict with HMRC guidance and existing tax planning standards.
ICAEW Tax technical manager Katherine Ford said: “We support the government’s efforts to reduce the tax gap, but measures must be properly targeted and reasonable, and not impose disproportionate costs and burdens on taxpayers seeking to comply with the tax system.”
Last week, the ICAEW appointed Caroline Smale as its president for 2026/27.
