On Tuesday 18 April, the committee will take evidence from CIOT, ICAEW and ACCA on the generality of the tax measures in the Budget and Finance Bill.

On Wednesday 19 April, it will take evidence from the Resolution Foundation and the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, regarding the differential tax treatment of employees and the self-employed.

On Thursday 20 April, the committee will hear evidence about business rates from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the CBI.

HMRC senior executives will appear before the committee on Tuesday 25 April to explore developments with Making Tax Digital, while on Wednesday 26 April, the committee will take evidence from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury committee, said: ‘There have been marked improvements in recent years in the scrutiny of tax measures in Budgets and finance bills. But more needs to be done. The Treasury Committee will be devoting more time to the scrutiny of taxation than hitherto.’

However, Tyrie was critical of the government’s refusal to back a recommendation made jointly by the select committee, CIOT, the Institute for Government and the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the finance bill committee should hear oral evidence as well as written submissions.

Tyrie said he would continue to press this point, stating: ‘It is important that the finance bill committee, as well as the Treasury committee, has the opportunity to hear directly from tax experts before they scrutinise the finance bill.

He added: ‘Tax experts and Parliamentarians need to have the best possible tools for the task of scrutinising tax policy proposals, with good quality impact assessments and a user-friendly record of the status of each proposal on its journey through the forest of consultation and legislation.’

In a letter to Tyrie covering these points, Jane Ellison, financial secretary to the Treasury, said HMRC officials had recently met with tax professionals and experts to look at ways of improving the tax impact information notes, and would be doing follow-up work on this in the spring. She also said the Treasury would give consideration to developing a tax consultation tracker to provide greater transparency over the tax policy making process.

However, Ellison ruled out the request for oral evidence on the finance bill, on the grounds it would add delay to what she described as the ‘extensive’ consultation process, which already involved a range of stakeholders.

Andrew Tyrie’s letter to Jane Ellison about improvements in tax policy making is here.

Jane Ellison’s reply to the Treasury select committee is here.