Progress of the Tax Law Rewrite project
This project is of major importance and will lighten the bureaucratic burden that has previously been placed on the taxpayers of our country.

So far, 13 exposure drafts containing more than 2000 draft clauses have now been published.

The first legislation prepared by the Project was enacted as the Capital Allowances Act 2001. That statute is now in force and has been well received by the tax community who regard it as a significant improvement on the previous legislation in terms of its clarity and user accessibility.

To quote John Pearce of the Inland Revenue's Tax Rewrite Project: 'The Project has, of course, encountered difficulties and these have meant that progress has not been as rapid as was envisaged at the outset. There are many reasons for this, but two can be mentioned here. The first is that the existing legislation has proved far more complex and difficult to analyse (and, accordingly, to clarify and rewrite) than anyone expected. The second reason is that the project's progress crucially depends on the availability of experienced Parliamentary drafters.

'The project's plans for the coming months centre on the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Bill. It is currently envisaged that this Bill will be presented to Parliament around the end of the year, with the Bill being enacted during the early months of next year.'