CIPP welcomes Labour’s “proposals to close tax loopholes” as it unveils election manifesto

Party leader Ed Miliband revealed details of the manifesto as the countdown to the general election continues to gather pace.

Associate Director of Policy, Research, and Strategic Visibility, Karen Thomson said: “The CIPP welcomes Labour’s proposals to close tax loopholes, and to review the culture and practices of HMRC so that everyone follows the same rules, increasing the rigour of the tax system.  We do, however, continue to urge any future government not to cut HMRC’s budget when considering reducing public spending.” 

In addition, the CIPP also welcomed Labour’s commitment to ensuring that all parts of the country will have access to affordable high speed broadband by the end of the next Parliament.

Karen added: “The requirement to submit PAYE information electronically in real time has brought problems for those payroll practitioners operating in large swathes of the country without access to reliable broadband. It is certainly welcome news that under the proposals, all parts of the country will have access to high speed broadband by the end of the next Parliament should Labour win an outright majority.” 

However, the CIPP is concerned about the impact, particularly on small businesses, of Labour’s proposals to double the length of paternity leave to four weeks, and to increase paternity pay to more than £260 per week.

“This could pose problems for small businesses, especially if the team is small and it relies heavily on one person to do multiple tasks,” added Karen. “We’ll monitor this area closely and as always, we’ll continue to work alongside our members to ensure that any concerns raised by them, can be relayed to the relevant department once a new government is in place.”