Mark McLaughlin highlights the importance for taxpayers of choosing a reputable tax adviser.
To misquote Forrest Gump: "Tax advisers are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get!" Like many occupations, there are good tax advisers and bad ones.
It has been reported that around 65% of individuals and firms who undertake tax work are not members of any professional body. The other 35%, who are members of professional bodies, are subject to regulation by those bodies, underpinned by disciplinary procedures for non-compliance or poor performance.
HMRC’s standard for agents
HMRC’s document ‘HMRC: the standard for agents’ (tinyurl.com/HMRC-TSA) sets out the minimum standards expected of agents and tax advisers. HMRC expects all agents (i.e., whether regulated by a professional body or not) to meet its
