The personal allowance costs the government £195bn a year in tax relief, while inheritance tax exemptions amount to £17bn a year, just some of the numerous reliefs adding to the complexity of the tax system but necessary to determine tax liability. Bill Dodwell, head of the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS), analyses the annual costs to the Exchequer

The Labour party is considering plans to overhaul the current stamp duty system by phasing out the charge for purchasers and increasing capital gains tax on second property sales

Auditors will never be able to fulfil their responsibilities until regulators ensure accounting rules are fit for purpose, while pressure from client companies has led to legacy misstatements and the Big Four audit firms simply set aside contingency for multimillion pound fines, says Emile Woolf FCA