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| | | (3) | The Office for Tax Responsibility shall be managed by the Director for Tax |
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| | | Responsibility who shall be supported in their work by no fewer than two and no |
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| | | more than four Commissioners for Tax Responsibility who shall, with the |
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| | | Director of Tax Responsibility, constitute the Board of the Office for Tax |
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| | | (4) | The Office for Tax Responsibility shall— |
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| | | (a) | be afforded such budget as shall be required for it to undertake its duties |
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| | | as laid down in this Act; |
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| | | (b) | be given the right to access all such information held by such other |
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| | | government departments, agencies, local authorities and authorities |
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| | | established under statute as it in its sole discretion shall determine is |
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| | | required to fulfil its duties laid down in this Act subject to the sole |
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| | | requirement that all obligations to respect the confidentiality of those |
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| | | with whom those such other agents of government engage shall also be |
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| | | assumed by the Office for Tax Responsibility when using data those |
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| | | agents of government shall supply to the Office for Tax Responsibility |
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| | | for the purpose of undertaking its duties; |
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| | | (c) | engage such staff (including the Director and Commissioners) as it needs |
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| | | to fulfil its duties, such staff not to be seconded from other government |
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| | | departments, agencies, local authorities or authorities established under |
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| | | such statute and such staff not to be seconded to it by any entity registered |
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| | | at the time such secondment shall take place as a tax agent by HMRC. |
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| | | (5) | The Office for Tax Responsibility shall report annually on— |
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| | | (a) | its best estimate of the United Kingdom tax gap. In so doing it shall— |
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| | | (i) | calculate the tax gap separately for each of income tax, national |
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| | | insurance in all its forms, corporation tax, value added tax, excise |
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| | | and customs duties in all their forms, stamp duty in all its forms, |
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| | | capital gains tax, inheritance tax, petroleum revenue tax, landfill |
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| | | tax, air passenger duty, insurance premium tax, climate change |
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| | | levy, aggregates levy, domestic rates and business rates, but with |
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| | | specific requirement being made that the interaction of the tax |
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| | | gap calculated for any one tax be specifically considered when |
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| | | estimating the tax gap for any other tax before preparing and |
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| | | publishing an estimate of the total annual United Kingdom tax |
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| | | (ii) | use a methodology for calculating the tax gap that estimates the |
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| | | net theoretical tax liability for the particular tax subject to |
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| | | calculation within the United Kingdom economy as a whole |
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| | | from which is then subtracted the acutal receipts for the tax in |
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| | | question to produce an estimate of the annual tax gap for the tax |
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| | | (iii) | analyse the tax gap with regard to each tax between that |
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| | | attributable to tax evasion, tax avoidance and unpaid or late paid |
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| | | (iv) | publish its methodology and workings with regard to the |
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| | | calculation of each component of the tax gap subject only to |
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| | | withholding such information as is required to prevent any |
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| | | breach of taxpayer confidentiality; |
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| | | (b) | progress made by HMRC in closing the tax gap; |
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| | | (c) | the methods it proposes HMRC and other agencies, if appropriate, should |
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| | | adopt better to tackle the tax gap; |
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| | | (d) | those legislative changes required, in its opinion, to close the tax gap; |
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| | | (e) | the budget resources that in its opinion HMRC and those other agencies |
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| | | addressing that issue will require to address the tax gap it identifies; |
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