Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) for his outstanding contribution to taxation.
Commenting ahead of a virtual ceremony last Friday, CIOT President Peter Rayney said:
“Gordon Brown is one of the great reforming Chancellors who has shaped the tax and related benefits system like few before or since.
In 10 years as Chancellor, he made significant changes that strengthened the competitiveness of the UK as a location for holding companies and many business-friendly tax measures.
He introduced business asset taper relief, the forerunner of Entrepreneurs' Relief – which we now call Business Asset Disposal Relief. He introduced working tax credits, the first ISAs and a simplified regime for pension tax relief.
He launched the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime which was a game-changer to tackling marketed tax avoidance. And he negotiated changes to the EU Savings Directive to focus it around transparency and exchange of information, rather than withholding taxes. This approach has been the blueprint for subsequent international agreements to combat tax evasion.
In recognition of all of these achievements and many others, Gordon Brown is a deserving recipient of a CIOT Honorary Fellowship.”
Gordon Brown is the first person to achieve the position of both Prime Minister and Chancellor and to receive the CIOT's award. In receiving this award he joins an exclusive collection of former ex-Chancellors and politicians, including Kenneth Clarke, Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, Denis Healey and ex-Minister David Gauke.
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