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The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is calling for a reform of the country’s capital gains tax (CGT) rules.
The government body is specifically proposing an overhaul to capital gains tax rules from tax liability when moving home to getting divorced.
It is also calling for an extension of the short 30-day deadline for dealing with CGT bills when selling property.
This follows two reports by the OTS into simplifying practical, technical and administrative issues regarding CGT rules.
Bill Dodwell, the OTS’ tax director, said: “Together these two reports make up the most comprehensive review ever conducted of the tax and the practical experience of those who report or pay it.
“Many people have limited awareness or understanding of Capital Gains Tax. As the tax tends to affect taxpayers on a one-off basis (over 70% of those paying it in the eleven tax years to 2017-18 did so only once in that period), they do not so readily pick up the knowledge and experience that comes from dealing with something regularly.”
He added: “This means it is particularly important that the rules, and HMRC’s guidance and processes, are intuitive and fit with the practicalities of life, so far as possible.”
