Calls for all tax advisers and accountants to be properly qualified

A new report has revealed worryingly, that 82% of unregulated and unaffiliated tax agents are not qualified.

The YouGov research, commissioned by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), shows that two-thirds of agent-related complaints to HMRC are about the one third of agents who are unregulated.

As a result of these findings, the majority of MPs have agreed that anyone employed to deliver tax and accountancy services should be professionally qualified.

Adam Harper, AAT Director of Professional Standards and Policy, commented, “It’s great that 8 out of 10 MPs agree with AAT that anyone offering paid-for tax and accountancy services should be appropriately qualified – but we now need this agreement to translate into action. 

“If the government is genuinely concerned about consumer protection, saving the taxpayer money and raising standards in the tax advice market, then it needs to compel tax advisers and accountants to join one of the many relevant accountancy or tax professional bodies in the same way that membership is required in over 200 other professions in the UK.”

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