Small tax practitioners in the UK - Provision of tax advice. A qualitative study

Abstract

The aim of the study is to obtain an in-depth understanding of smaller tax practice in the UK, from the perspective of the tax practitioner. The practitioner voice, the empirical data, was collected via a focus group and semi-structured interviews. The thesis investigates how changes in the tax field impact upon smaller tax practice and adopts a qualitative, interpretive approach to generate rich descriptions of tax practice. The study examines the client/practitioner relationship and the practitioner/tax authority relationship and also investigates how the practitioner sees their role within this tripartite relationship. The findings suggest that there are a number of ‘client expectation gaps’ between what clients want and what practitioners can achieve in provision of service to them. These are the ‘expert’, ‘scope’, ‘HMRC’ and ‘fee’ gaps. Gaps between the type of relationship and service practitioners desire from HMRC and that which they experience are also identified. These are the ‘relationship’, ‘trust’, ‘systems’ and ‘knowledge’ gaps. The data also provides evidence about positive aspects of the relationship. The study finds that practitioners adopt a number of roles to enable management of these gaps and to fulfil their responsibilities to both clients and HMRC. The gaps arise as a consequence of the dynamic, complex and interdisciplinary tax field in which smaller tax practice plays out. The tax field consists of various actors and is overlaid by a number of fields, such as the legal, political, judicial and bureaucratic field, of which Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is part. Thus by viewing smaller tax practice against the tax field, a deeper understanding of tax practice is attained. A theoretical framework, a Bourdieusian lens, with a focus upon ‘fields’ is employed to enable this analysis. Few studies have examined smaller tax practice, yet it is an important market. Smaller tax practice plays an integral role in the tax system, representing thousands of taxpayers, including small and medium sized businesses. Without the help of the tax practitioner taxpayers may find it difficult to meet their tax obligations, given the complexities in the UK tax system. The findings will be of interest to policymakers, the tax authorities, scholars, professional bodies and practitioners alike.