TaxAid for advocate?

TaxAid was pleased to see that Robert Maas is initiating a debate advocating the provision of an independent taxpayer advocate service similar to that in the US; see 'A helping hand' Taxation 20 September 2007 page 301. While we agree that the cost of ensuring that the tax system is fair and workable should be resourced by government the question is whether using statutory sector provision of advice stacks up on any grounds.

HMRC were less effective than existing independent advice and certainly not on basis of cost accuracy accessibility immediacy independence and given current evidence on an overall understanding of their internal procedures and the interplay of taxes. Given the comparable level of resources to offer what is essentially an identical service across the UK the US Taxpayer Advocate Service has no less than 2 000 employees it seems...