Centre for the Analysis of Taxation

Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural CenTax Residential Conference: 'Closing the Tax Gap'!

🗓️23-24 April 2026

📍University of Warwick

🤝Bringing together tax professionals, academics, civil servants and think tanks

Book now!👇

centax.org.uk/tickets-now-...

JOB VACANCY: RESEARCH ECONOMIST | CenTax Dec 17, 2025

📣 The Centre for Analysis of Taxation (@centaxuk.bsky.social) are recruiting two new Research Economists.

The postholder will conduct data analysis at the UK tax authority’s secure research facility, HMRC Datalab, in London.

📅 Apply by 1 February 2026

🚨 We're hiring *two* Research Economist roles!

📍 Location: HMRC Datalab, London
📅 Deadline: 1 February 2026
💼 Duration: 2-year fixed term
💷 Salary: £33,002–£34,610 + £5,000 London weighting

🔗 Apply now: lnkd.in/eVZDYA4B

📢 Job Alert: CenTax is hiring a Research Economist!

🔹 2-year role at HMRC Datalab
🔹 Economics or quant Master's required (completed by start)
🔹 Data analysis, research design & dissemination
🔹 Deadline: 1 Feb 2026 💼

Apply now 👉 centax.org.uk/job-vacancy-...

We expect high demand from tax professionals in particular, so early booking is advised.

Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know when booking opens! 👇

centax.org.uk/contact-us/

👀 Watch this space...

Tickets will go on sale in January 2026, with an early-booking rate available for the first six weeks. To support balanced and diverse discussion, we will allocate ticket quotas across key categories of participant.

👂 Breakout sessions held under Chatham House rules drawing on participants’ direct experience. Topics will include conversations on regulating tax agents, HMRC’s capacity and service standards, & the contribution of other govt agencies and third-party data to closing the tax gap

🧐 'Where We Stand: The UK Tax Gap in 2026'
💷 Breaking Down the 60%: Understanding SMEs, Micro-Businesses and the Hidden Economy
💻 Data, Digitalisation and Tax Compliance
🛣️ The Long Game – Building a Roadmap to Close the Tax Gap

Programme highlights:

🎤 Keynote sessions from leading decision makers in the UK government alongside innovative perspectives from abroad

Plenary panel discussions, including...

The conference will bring together tax professionals, think tanks, the civil service and academia for two days of discussion on the tax gap in the UK.

Our full programme will be published in January.

📣 EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

We're really excited to announce our inaugural CenTax Residential Conference - Closing the Tax Gap!

🖋️ Closing the Tax Gap: CenTax Residential Conference 2026
🗓️ 23rd– 24th April 2026
📍 University of Warwick

🔔 Starting in half an hour!

Join us in person or online.

Budget reaction: Income Tax changes to property income, dividends and savings Income Tax on property income Explainer Property income (rent) is subject to Income Tax at standard rates, but is not subject to National Insurance Contributions (NICs). As a result, property income g...

More Budget analysis!

This time, we analyse Income Tax changes to property income, dividends and savings 👇

www.linkedin.com/pulse/budget...

Budget reaction: Pensions Pension contributions and withdrawals are taxed differently. Pension contributions are always free of Income Tax.

What changes have been made to salary sacrifice for pensions? Read our explainer and analysis here 👇

www.linkedin.com/pulse/budget...

Particularly, while it may feel hard politically to justify raising the threshold at which the Personal Allowance is tapered away & childcare allowances are withdrawn, holding this fixed at £100,000 will have ever worse economic consequences as more people enter this income range.

Freezing this threshold instead allows for a more gradual reversal, giving time for taxpayers to adjust.

The same defence cannot be mounted for freezes to the other Income Tax thresholds...

This historic increase in the Personal Allowance was arguably a mistake, but nominal cuts would be both politically unpopular & create immediate hardship for some through large upfront changes in net income for taxpayers.

But, there's a reasonable case for freezing the Personal Allowance in particular. During the 2010s, it was increased significantly above inflation several times, nominally more than doubling over this period. This is a largely why Income Tax is now so dependent on higher earners.

The effect is also to increase tax in a way that is less progressive than rate increases of equal revenue, and it creates large increases in marginal tax rates for those close to a threshold.

➡️ Our view ➡️

There are several economic reasons why a threshold freeze is a bad way to raise Income Tax. The scale of revenue raised is uncertain and arbitrary, depending almost entirely on the future path of inflation: something the government does not control...

The extended freeze comes after more than a decade in which thresholds were uprated annually in line with CPI inflation. With thresholds held constant while wages continue to rise, more people are being brought into higher tax bands and are paying more tax as a result.

Income Tax thresholds have been frozen since April 2022, and this has now been extended for a further three years to 2030–31 alongside the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) secondary threshold. Previously, these thresholds had been expected to rise again in 2027–28.

Our Budget analysis continues, with explainers and comment on some of yesterday's key announcements.

Next up - why has the government frozen Income Tax thresholds? 🥶

🏘️ Income Tax on property income
💸 Income Tax for dividends
💰 Income Tax on savings
🤝 Employee Ownership Trusts
🚗 EV road pricing

Check out the full report here👇

centax.org.uk/budget-2025-...

Our full response to the Budget is now live.

As well as our 'big picture' analysis, we provide quick explainers and comment on:

🏡 High Value Council Tax Surcharge
👴 Changes to pensions
🔄 Transferability of Inheritance Tax allowance
🥶 Income Tax threshold freeze

...

Has Rachel Reeves made the right calls in this budget? Our panel responds | Polly Toynbee and others After a tumultuous run-up to a make-or-break moment for the government, has the chancellor struck the right balance?

CenTax Director @andy-summers.bsky.social reacts to the Budget in today's @theguardian.com 👇

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If the increase in Fuel Duty from April 2026 is actually implemented, the govt should be commended. While this staged approach feels more realistic than previous promises, the plan for the forthcoming rise to only begin in April leaves open the possibility of further delay.

Charging more per electric mile driven without increasing Fuel Duty would further worsen the incentives to purchase EVs. Successive governments kept Fuel Duty frozen in cash terms since 2011, and cut it ‘temporarily’ in 2022.

Other Budget measures are intended to improve EV take up, largely by encouraging businesses to purchase them. However, it is an open question whether these will be enough to offset the demand reduction from a higher cost per mile.

But - taxing EVs more heavily makes them less attractive relative to petrol & diesel vehicles. A particular problematic for drivers who do not have access to home charging facilities, as prices at commercial facilities already make EV miles more expensive than fossil fuel miles.