CEO's welcome: A busy year ahead!

Dealing with last minute tax returns in January is always challenging and often takes priority over other areas of work. But the Self Assessment tax return filing date was not the only deadline in January. The recent Budget announced a number of important consultations, for many of which the responses needed to be submitted by 22 January.

The ATT and CIOT technical officers have been busy obtaining and collating the views of our members in order to inform our comments in those responses. We would like to thank those of you who gave up your time during that busy period to respond to our requests. It is important that our responses fully reflect the views and comments of our members, so your involvement is instrumental. A list of the full responses can be found on the ATT website at www.att.org.uk/technical/submissions and the CIOT website at 
www.tax.org.uk/submissions/1.

On Thursday 13 February, ATT technical officer David Wright will be presenting the second in a series of free webinars for ATT members, this time looking at ‘The end of furnished holiday lets: what do you and your clients need to know?’ Most readers will know that the beneficial tax treatment of furnished holiday lets is being abolished from April 2025. David will look at the impact of the changes, consider the areas where there is still uncertainty and provide practical advice on how members can prepare their clients. You can find out more and register for the event at tinyurl.com/bdf78m3f.

Looking further ahead, on Wednesday 2 April the ATT is holding the first of its bi-annual virtual Fellows Webinars. These free events provide a unique opportunity for all Fellows to enjoy the company of their peers and participate in discussion sessions led by our technical officers. Keep an eye out for your weekly newsletter for details of the presentation and discussion session topics.

Other dates to note in April are Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 April when the CIOT will be hosting its popular Spring Virtual Conference 2025. The conference provides topical lectures presented by leading tax speakers, flexible access to all the conference materials and recordings, and an opportunity to increase your CPD. This year topics will include presentations on: R&D tax relief: the new normal; employee ownership trusts: what are they good for?; capital allowances: ‘super’ useful tips and reminders; OMB exit planning in 2025/26 and beyond; and much more. You can find the full programme and registration details on the CIOT website at: www.tax.org.uk/svc2025.

In April, we will see a new Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive at HMRC with the appointment of John-Paul (‘JP’) Marks. We welcome his appointment and look forward to working with him as he develops his strategy for progressing the government’s priorities for HMRC to reduce the tax gap, modernise and reform the tax system and improve customer service. We would also like to thank the current Permanent Secretary Sir Jim Harra for his engagement with the tax profession during his time in charge, and we wish him all the very best for the future.

Talking of new appointments, some of you may have missed the ATT announcement that Emma Rawson has become the ATT’s first Director of Public Policy. We congratulate Emma and wish her all the very best in the role!

Finally, the award season has come early this year, with former ATT Council and current committee and steering group members Katharine Lindley and Ralph Pettengell both being nominated at the Professional Adviser Awards 2025 in the category for Outstanding Contribution to the Advice Industry. It’s great to see our members being recognised for the hard work they do and we wish them both well.