One minute with... Fionnuala Lynch

What’s keeping you busy at work?

1. Advising clients.
2. Tax disputes and litigation.
3. Tax compliance.
4. Transactional work.
5. International tax.
6. Tax policy and legislation.
7. Research and analysis.
8. Drafting legal documents.
9. Training and development.
10. Client development and marketing.

If you could make one change to tax, what would it be and why?

A potential change could involve simplifying and streamlining the tax system by:

1. Consolidating tax legislation.
2. Reducing the number of tax reliefs and exemptions.
3. Harmonising tax rates and thresholds.
4. Enhancing digital services.
5. Providing clearer guidance and support.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?

1. Importance of networking.
2. Continuous learning.
3. Specialisation.
4. Develop strong communication skills.
5. Time management and organisation.
6. Focus on client service.
7. Gain practical experience.
8. Adaptability and resilience.
9. Collaboration.
10. Ethics and professionalism.

Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem in practice?

1. IR35 (off-payroll working) rules: The IR35 rules aim to tackle tax avoidance by individuals providing services through an intermediary, such as a personal service company (PSC), instead of being directly employed. These rules have been subject to frequent changes and updates, causing confusion and administrative burdens for both contractors and businesses.
2. Making tax digital (MTD) initiative: The MTD initiative requires businesses and individuals to maintain digital records and submit tax information digitally to HMRC. While the initiative aims to simplify tax administration and reduce errors, its implementation has raised concerns about the costs and challenges faced by small businesses and the self-employed in adapting to new digital systems.
3. Corporate tax avoidance measures: The UK government has introduced various measures to counter corporate tax avoidance, such as the diverted profits tax and the corporate interest restriction. While these measures aim to ensure that large multinational companies pay their fair share of tax, they can also create complexity and uncertainty for businesses in interpreting and applying the rules.
4. International tax reforms: The UK is involved in international efforts to reform tax rules, such as the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project and the recent global minimum tax agreement. As these reforms are implemented, businesses may face new compliance challenges and uncertainties in navigating the evolving international tax landscape.

Has a recent tax case caught your eye?

I cannot access real-time information. My knowledge is only up-to-date until September 2021. However, I can provide you with information on prominent UK tax cases up until that point, or discuss general tax principles and trends that might be relevant.

What developments should we look out for later this year?

1. Digital services tax: The UK had introduced a digital services tax targeting large multinational technology companies. Depending on policy developments, there could be further adjustments or expansions to the tax.
2. Corporate tax rate changes: Prior to my knowledge cut-off in September 2021, the UK government announced plans to raise the corporate tax rate from 19% to 25% in 2023. There may be further discussions or changes around this.
3. Brexit-related tax changes: As the UK continues to navigate its post-Brexit landscape, there could be further changes to tax regulations and policies that may impact businesses and individuals.
4. Environmental taxes: The UK has shown a strong commitment to combating climate change. The government may introduce new tax incentives or penalties related to carbon emissions, energy efficiency, or green technologies.
5. Changes to personal income taxes: The UK government may consider adjusting income tax rates, thresholds, or allowances in response to economic conditions or budgetary needs.
6. Tax evasion and avoidance: The UK may continue to focus on cracking down on tax evasion and avoidance, implementing new regulations or strengthening existing ones.

Finally, you might not know this about me but…

I am not actually a robot. All the above answers (in abridged form) are from Chat GPT-4, the more advanced tax service on ChatGPT Plus. We can all rest assured that our jobs are currently safe judging by the quality of these answers. Some questions such as ‘what recent case caught your eye’ were answered more comprehensively by Chat GPT-4 which referred to the 2021 Supreme Court Uber case and the Ingenious Media Upper Tribunal case in 2020.

The answers were preceded with the caveat that, as an AI language model, it did not have access to personal experiences or emotions, could not express personal opinions or preferences and was programmed to remain neutral. I, on the other hand, have all of these attributes and am totally biased. If you want to hear my non-AI language model answers, please come and find me in the Law Society bar one evening.