Paul Morton, the new tax director of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has taken over the helm of the organisation from 1 March and will be leading future attempts to reduce complexity in the UK’s tax system
He succeeds John Whiting who is retiring, after holding the position since the organisation was established in 2010.
Morton himself has recently retired as head of group tax at RELX Group plc, a multinational information and analytics company based in London previously known as Reed Elsevier.
He is vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Tax Commission and deputy chairman of the British branch of the International Fiscal Association having previously held the position of chairman.
In addition Morton is a member of a range of specialist committees with bodies including the CBI, the 100 Group, the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the OECD, as well as HMRC’s business tax forum and HMRC’s large corporates forum.
Morton’s previous career includes roles with Royal Dutch Shell, KPMG and the Inland Revenue, as well as close involvement with CIOT’s activities in Europe.
The OTS has recently published a preliminary report on its review of ways to simplify the VAT regime. Other areas currently under review include computation of corporation tax and closer alignment of income tax and National Insurance contributions.
Whiting confirmed to CCH Daily he will retire after a short handover period with Morton, although he will continue his involvement with CIOT. Whiting was previously director of tax policy with the CIOT, having been a tax partner with PwC, where he spent 25 years.
