Professional bodies defend tax relief for unreimbursed employee expenses

The CIOT and ATT believe a key reason for the increase in claims by employees for unreimbursed expenses in recent years is employers’ reluctance to reimburse directly in the face of economic constraints. This should not lead to HMRC denying tax relief for these expenses, the bodies argue in their submissions to the government’s call for evidence, which seeks to understand why these claims have increased. See http://bit.ly/2v0o65g.

HM Treasury issued its ‘Taxation of employee expenses call for evidence’ in March, the stated objectives being to establish:

• whether the current rules or their administration can be clearer and simpler;
• whether the tax rules for expenses are fit for purpose in the modern economy; and
• why the cost to the exchequer of the tax relief for expenses which are not reimbursed has increased in recent years.