Pensioner Taxation and Employee Share Schemes

Tuesday 6th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke)]

The Government launched the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) in July 2010 to provide independent advice on simplifying the tax system.

The OTS has today published an interim report on its review into pensioner taxation and the final report on the review of approved (tax-advantaged) employee share schemes, both commissioned by the Government on 5 July 2011.

The Government asked the OTS to carry out a two-stage review of pensioner taxation. In this first stage of the review the OTS has identified and examined at a high level those parts of the tax system which cause the most complexity for pensioners. The OTS will analyse these areas in more depth before formulating recommendations in the second stage of their review.

The Government also asked the OTS to carry out a two-stage review of employee share schemes. The first stage of the review looked at the four tax-advantaged schemes. The OTS was asked to evaluate the four schemes, identifying where they create complexities and disproportionate administrative burdens for scheme users, and examining areas where the schemes could be simplified. The OTS will look at the simplification of unapproved schemes in the second stage of its review.

Electronic copies of both reports have been placed in the Libraries of the House.



The Government will respond to the OTS reports in the Budget, on 21 March 2012.