The UK government has abandoned its proposals to make professional indemnity (PI) insurance for tax advisers compulsory.
This comes several months after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched a consultation about the mandatory PI plans in a bid to raise standards in the sector.
HM Treasury and HMRC both said in a 30 November report named Tax Administration and Maintenance that plans to make PI cover compulsory for tax advisers have been scrapped “at this time”.
But they remain “committed to raising standards in the tax advice market – and will consult on further options, and on proposals to tackle the high cost to taxpayers of using tax agents to claim tax repayments”.
The government will publish the PI cover consultation responses as well as external research on the characteristics of tax agents who are not affiliated to tax professional bodies.
