The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published an interim report on employee benefits and expenses in the UK. The report is intended to be a summary of messages in this area received from events held UK wide where the OTS spoke to employers big and small, their advisers, representative bodies and HMRC frontline staff.

The report is focused on areas where the tax system is the most complex and at this stage is not a set of fully worked up proposals but focuses on reporting areas of complexity and recommending priorities for further review. The report also looks at a number of “big picture” issues, listed in Chapter 1. These are not presented as definite solutions, but all show promise as simplifying measures which the OTS would be interested in exploring in more depth.

The report also looks at what is referred to as a number of “quick wins” i.e. changes that might make things simpler in the short term and which could be effected easily. These are listed in Chapter 2 but again they are merely initial suggestions and carry a health warning. It was announced in the Autumn Statement that the Government will implement 9 of the ‘Quick Wins’ identified on employee benefits by the end of January 2014.

The OTS is seeking views on both the “big picture” issues and quick wins in the interim report.