About TARC

Taxation is a significant feature of the economy: the revenue raised by taxes in the UK amounts to 35 percent of gross domestic product. It is imperative that the burden this places on society should be reduced as far as possible by good tax design and efficient tax administration. Tax instruments should be suited to purpose and administration conducted efficiently to ensure that revenue is collected successfully and that the tax bill is distributed across taxpayers as intended by Parliament.

The UK Government’s central objective for the tax system is to ‘… make it more competitive, simpler, greener and fairer’ and ‘… to restore the UK tax system’s reputation for predictability, stability and simplicity’. An essential element of that objective is to improve the design and delivery of tax administration so that it maximises revenue within existing provision to close the tax gap, improve taxpayers’ experience of the service provided by the tax authority, ensures cost-effectiveness, and supports economic growth. The work of TARC is devoted to obtaining these objectives.

From September 2018, TARC has entered an exciting new phase. Since its creation in 2013, TARC has developed into a global hub of research activity in relation to tax administration and expanded its activities beyond its initial brief of working closely with HMRC. From 1 September 2018, TARC will be solely funded by the ESRC and will be based primarily at the University of Exeter, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies transitions from being a full partner to being a collaborator. We will continue to work closely with HMRC, and also with other tax administrations and supranational bodies to continue to build on the momentum achieved in the first five years of operation. We are grateful to HMRC for contributing to the initial funding for TARC which has allowed the Centre to develop into a thriving interdisciplinary research team. We are also grateful to the IFS for being part of TARC’s evolution and project development.

History