This is one of those unique episodes where we get a real sneak peek into a secretive area of tax – in this case, tax policy – and we are fortunate enough to have Sam Mitha, who spent his entire career in HMRC, in tax policy, in senior roles, lastly as ex-HMRC Deputy Director of Central Policy.
He was responsible for coordinating HMRC’s advice to ministers on the Budget and Finance Bills, and for advising on the delivery of new policy. Sam led the design and delivery of legislation on the bank payroll tax and R&D tax credits, and he chaired the Self-Assessment Consultative Committee
The aim of this episode is to improve your understanding of tax policy and how understanding tax policy is beneficial for you and your career. And Sam brings this all to life with some real stories from his time at HMRC.
Click the play button at the top of this page to hear the episode or search for “The Tax Professionals Podcast” in your podcast player of choice.
Guest – Sam Mitha
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-mitha-cbe-08594177/
Timings
- A bit about Sam and his HMRC career in tax policy
- (6:15) What is tax policy?
- (9:30) How guidance fits into the tax-policy process
- (14:15) Why it’s beneficial for us as tax professionals to understand how policy is made
- (23:15) The tax policy process – what’s involved
- (30:00) The tax-legislation-making process
- (50:15) The extent of the Chancellor’s involvement in tax policy
- (1:07:15) How we can get involved in tax policy for the benefit of our career
Resources
Sam’s articles:
- Tax and Politics: Taxjournal.com (1 June 2021)
- U.K. COVID-19 Diary: Policy and Impacts, National Tax Journal, 2020, vol. 73, issue 3, 847-878
- A heretical view of tax simplification: Taxjournal.com:15 June 2017)
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