Tax legislation 'growing in complexity'

UK tax legislation has been growing more complex in the past few years, a legal publisher has claimed.

The 2007 edition of LexisNexis' Tolley's Yellow Tax Handbook has 40 per cent more pages than its 2001 counterpart, Accountingweb reports.

In 2001, the handbook was comprised of two volumes and 5,952 pages. This most recent edition runs over four volumes and has 9,866 pages, giving those with tax jobs even more legislation to master.

Mike Truman, tax expert at the publisher, told the news provider: "The complexity of the UK tax system continues to be a challenge for most businesses.

"Even when the government attempts to shorten legislation, for example with the recent anti-avoidance measures, this comes at the expense of pages and pages of HMRC guidance."

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales recently issued advice for self-assessment returns, as part of its annual Tax Return Week.