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

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

Evaluating competing public policy approaches towards the informal economy: some lessons from the United Kingdom

Purpose: Conventionally, participation in the informal economy has been explained by viewing citizens as rational economic actors participating when the pay-off is greater than the expected cost of being caught and punished, and thus tackled by raising the sanctions and risks of detection. Given that many citizens do not engage even when the benefits outweigh the costs, a new social actor approach has begun to emerge which explains the informal economy as arising when tax morality is low and seeks to foster commitment to compliance. The aim of this paper is to provide an evidence-based evaluation of these competing policy approaches. Methodology: To do so, the results are reported of 1,306 face-to-face interviews undertaken during 2013 in the United Kingdom. Findings: The finding is that raising the sanctions and risks of detection has no significant impact on the likelihood of participation in the informal sector. However, participation in the informal economy is significantly associated with tax morality. Indeed, the only time that increasing the sanctions and risks of detection reduces the level of participation in the informal economy is amongst citizens with very low tax morality. Practical Implications: Rather than continue with the current rational economic actor approach of increasing the penalties and risks of detection, this case study of the UK reveals that a new policy approach is required that seeks to improve tax morality by introducing measures to reduce the acceptability of participating in the informal economy. Whether this is more widely applicable now needs to be tested, given the dominance throughout the world of this punitive rational economic actor approach. Originality/value: This paper provides evidence supporting a new social actor approach towards explaining and tackling participation in the informal economy

Ten years of NIHR Research Training: perceptions of the programmes. A qualitative interview study

Objectives The UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) training programmes were created to build and sustain research capacity in healthcare. Following the training programme 10-year strategic review, this qualitative study aimed to deepen understanding of facilitators and barriers for those progressing through NIHR-supported research careers. Design Semistructured qualitative study. Data collection and analysis Telephone interviews conducted between May and August 2017 were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed using Framework Approach. Setting UK National Health Service (NHS) Trusts, university medical schools, District General Hospitals, Integrated Academic Training Programme centres and Research Design Services across the North East, North West, South East and South West of England, London and the Midlands. Participants Fourteen women and eight men, of whom, 14 were previous or current NIHR personal awardees (seven doctors and seven allied health professionals (AHPs) or nurses) and eight were managers (staff within clinical or university training-related roles). Results (1) NIHR awards were viewed as transformative for research careers; (2) however, there were perceptions of a biased ‘playing field’. (3) Inequalities were perceived for AHPs and nurses, those outside of established research institutes and those in ‘unfashionable’ specialisms. (4) While support for NIHR awards contributed to a healthy research culture, (5) short-term awards were perceived as a barrier to continuing an independent research career. Conclusions Participants perceived many strengths of the NIHR training programmes in terms of developing individual careers and research capacity. Areas in which improvement could enhance the ability to attract, develop and retain researcher were identified. Our findings are of relevance to schemes in other countries, where healthcare researchers experience similar challenges. Further work is needed to overcome barriers and ensure equity of access to, and success within, clinical research training schemes to sustain the research workforce needed to address future global health challenges

The effects of adding zoledronic acid to neoadjuvant chemotherapy on tumour response: exploratory evidence for direct anti-tumour activity in breast cancer

Background: Pre-clinical studies have demonstrated synergistic anti-tumour effects of chemotherapy (CT) and zoledronic acid (ZOL). Within the AZURE trial, designed to determine whether the addition of ZOL to neoadjuvant therapy improves disease outcomes, a subgroup received neoadjuvant CT. We report a retrospective evaluation comparing pathological response in the primary tumour between treatment groups. Methods: In total, 205 patients received neoadjuvant CT±ZOL (CT+ZOL, n=102; CT, n=103). The primary end point was pathologically assessed residual invasive tumour size (RITS) at surgery. Secondary end points were pathological complete response (pCR) rate and axillary nodal involvement. Following review of surgical pathology reports (n=195), outcome differences between groups were assessed adjusting for potential response modifiers. Results: Baseline characteristics and CT treatments were similar. In multivariate analysis, allowing for biological and clinical factors known to influence tumour response, the adjusted mean RITS in CT and CT+ZOL groups were 27.4 and 15.5 mm, respectively, giving a difference in means of 12 mm (95% confidence interval: 3.5–20.4 mm; P=0.006). The pCR rate was 6.9% in the CT group and 11.7% in the CT+ZOL group (P=0.146). There was no difference in axillary nodal involvement (P=0.6315). Conclusion: These data suggest a possible direct anti-tumour effect of ZOL in combination with CT, warranting formal evaluation in prospective studies

Genders at Work: Gender as a Geography of Power in the Academy

This chapter discusses contemporary research investigating how gender operates as a geography of power in the contemporary academy, particularly in relation to notions of ‘career’. Massey’s understanding of space as ‘a simultaneity of stories-so-far and places as collections of those stories’ (2005, p.11) shapes the research questions and a methodology of ‘spatial storytelling’ which foregrounds relationships between space and power in considering lived experiences of work and career. The chapter presents a selection of participants’ ‘stories-so-far’ which illustrate the complexity and dimensionality of lived, gendered experiences in the workplace and provide a basis for reflection on the opportunities these afford to resist sexism in the academy