Tax forms

Tax Law Review Committee

The Tax Law Review Committee (TLRC)'s remit is to keep under review the state and operation of tax law in the UK.

The IFS created the Tax Law Review Committee (TLRC) in 1994. The TLRC’s remit is to keep under review the state and operation of tax law in the UK. The TLRC asks in particular whether aspects of the tax system are working in a satisfactory and efficient manner and, if not, what might be done to improve matters.

The TLRC does not routinely respond to consultative documents or new developments, but chooses themes of importance for longer term reviews. This may sometimes involve reacting to current consultations and developments where this fits into its work programme. 

Over more than 50 years the IFS as a whole has established itself as Britain's leading independent economic research institute. Having built a reputation for rigour, objectivity and impartiality the IFS is now recognised as an authoritative commentator on a wide range of policy issues, including taxation and the public finances. The TLRC works with the IFS economists where appropriate and is informed by their research because the work of the TLRC and the Institute's economists complement each other. This helps bring a rounded perspective to issues of vital importance to both individuals and businesses. The Committee's members represent a broad cross-section of informed opinion from industry and commerce, the judiciary, academia, the professions, and political and public life. The current Chairman is Professor Judith Freedman. Previous Chairs include Graham Aaronson QC, Sir Alan Budd, Dr. John Avery Jones and Malcolm Gammie QC.

Over more than 25 years, the TLRC has produced reports on a broad range of tax issues including tax appeals; procedure  for scrutiny of legislation, tax avoidance, drafting legislation; the taxation of small business; the alignment of tax and accounting; the common consolidated corporate tax base; tax and the family and revenue authority powers. The reports and a list of TLRC members are available on the IFS website.

Officers

Judith Freedman (Chair)
Emeritus Professor of Tax Law and Policy, University of Oxford

David Tipping (Secretary to the Committee)
Pupil, Field Court Tax Chambers

Members 

Paul Aplin
Formerly president, ICAEW

Charlotte Barbour
President, CIOT; formerly Director of Regulatory Authorisations, ICAS

Michael Blackwell 
Tribunal Judge; formerly Associate Professor of Law, London School of Economics and Political Science

Steve Bousher
Barrister, Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP

Tracey Bowler
Tribunal Judge; formerly Research Director, TLRC

Emma Chamberlain
Barrister, Pump Court Tax Chambers; Visiting Professor, University of Oxford and LSE

Dominic de Cogan
Professor of Tax and Public Law and Assistant Director of the Centre for Tax Law, University of Cambridge

Stephen Daly
Reader in Law, King's College London

Chris Davidson
Formerly HMRC; formerly KPMG

Bill Dodwell
Formerly Tax Director, Office of Tax Simplification

Malcolm Gammie
KC, One Essex Court

Paul Johnson
Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies

Judith Knott
Formerly Director of Large Business, HMRC

Sarah Lane
Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 

Amy Lawton
Senior Lecturer in Tax Law, University of Edinburgh

Sam Mitha
Formerly Head of Central Tax Policy Group, HMRC

Paul Morton
Non-Executive Director, HMRC; formerly Tax Director, Office of Tax Simplification

David Murray 
Head of Tax Policy & Sustainability , Anglo American 

Kunal Nathwani
Solicitor, Associate, Kirkland & Ellis

Dan Neidle
Formerly Partner, Clifford Chance LLP; Founder, Tax Policy Associates Ltd,

Geoff Pennells
Formerly Tax Policy Director for EMEA, Citigroup

Christopher Sanger
Partner, EY

Heather Self
Formerly Partner, now Consultant, Blick Rothenberg

Greg Sinfield
President, Tax Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal

Andrew Summers
Associate Professor of Law, London School of Economics and Political Science

Richard Thomas
Formerly Tribunal Judge; formerly Assistant Director, HMRC

Victoria Todd    
Head, Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, Chartered Institute of Taxation

Edward Troup 
Formerly Executive Chair and Permanent Secretary, HMRC                                                               

IFS staff attendees

Stuart Adam
Senior Economist, Tax Sector, IFS 

Helen Miller
Deputy Director and Head of Tax Section, IFS 

Responses and evidence

The tax administration framework: Supporting a 21st century tax system. Call for evidence. Tax Law Review Committee response.

TAF1 | 12 July 2021

A response by the Tax Law Review Committee (TLRC) to the call for evidence on the tax administration framework (TAF) published by HMRC on 23 March 2021.

Read here

Tax Law Review Committee: Submission to Tax Administration Framework consultation in respect of HMRC’s ‘reliance statement’

TAF2 | 13 July 2021

TLRC responds to the call for evidence on the TAF, within the wider context of the Government’s 10-year strategy to build a trusted, modern tax administration system, published in July 2020.

Read here

Notification of uncertain tax treatment by large businesses

The written evidence of Malcolm Gammie KC and TLRC member to the Finance Bill subcommittee of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee is based on the two papers below and can be found here.

Notification of uncertain tax treatment by large businesses:
Response to HMRC’s consultation document of 19 March 2020 by the Tax Law Review Committee of the Institute for Fiscal Studies

20 September 2021

This is the response of the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Tax Law Review Committee (“TLRC”) to the invitation to comment on the proposal contained in the Consultation Document published by HMRC on 19 March 2020 to introduce an obligation for a large business to notify HMRC where it has adopted an uncertain tax treatment.

Read here

Notification of uncertain tax treatment by large businesses:
Response to HMRC’s second consultation document of 23 March 2021 by the Tax Law Review Committee of the Institute for Fiscal Studies

20 September 2021

This is the response of the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Tax Law Review Committee (“TLRC”) to the invitation to comment on the proposal contained in the second Consultation Document (“Condoc 2”) published by HMRC on 23 March 2021 to introduce an obligation for a large business to notify HMRC where it has adopted an uncertain tax treatment (“UTT”).

Read here