Tax Law Rewrite Project 'to be completed'

Date: 30th July 2009

The long-running Tax Law Rewrite Project is nearing completion, the government has said.

According to the Treasury the main work of the scheme is set to be stopped at the end of the 2009/10 financial year, Tax News reports.

The Project's stated aim is to rewrite laws and rules concerning direct taxes in the UK in order to improve their transparency.

It is run through committees of tax experts, including politicians and trade bodies.

A total of five Acts, along with the PAYE regulations, have been reformulated as a result of the scheme, which began in 1996.

Lord Newton of Braintree, head of the steering committee, said: "With the completion of the project's work, legislation for the mainstream direct taxes will now be much easier for users to navigate and understand.

"This is a very significant achievement and I am grateful for the contribution of everyone involved in it."

Steven Timms, financial secretary to the Treasury, added: "The Tax Law Rewrite project has played a key role in modernising our tax legislation and its work has rightly been widely praised."

The Acts amended by the project are the Capital Allowances Act 2001, the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, the Income Tax Act 2007 and the Corporation Tax Act 2009.