HC Deb 08 January 2002 vol 377 cc817-8W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans for tax simplification. [24817]

Mr. Andrew Smith

The Government are committed to making tax law clearer and easier to use for taxpayers and their advisers. Through the work of the Tax Law Rewrite project they plan to rewrite direct tax legislation with a better structure and in simpler language. This will be achieved through a series of Bills and the first Bill covering the capital allowances code has already been enacted. The next Bill will rewrite the provisions for the taxation of employment income and pension income and taxable social security income to produce clearer and more accessible legislation.

The Government keep the whole tax system under review, acting where possible to change tax rules to remove complexity in line with its objective of a modern and fair tax system.