Opening Our Doors

Abstract

Dr Amy Lawton and David Massey demonstrate how the establishment of the North West Tax Clinic can help to bridge the gap between tax academia and the profession

The North West Tax Clinic (NWTC) opened its doors in January 2020 with a view to helping low-income individuals with their income tax affairs. As a collaboration between TaxAid, Lancaster University and the University of Central Lancashire, the project enables undergraduate and postgraduate students to provide free tax advice under the supervision of professional tax advisers. It is the first such project in the UK.

The Clinic ran as a ten-week pilot until March 2020 and will roll out on a more permanent basis in October. During the pilot, students successfully navigated the choppy waters of technical tax advice and covered common problems including submitting tax returns and appealing HMRC late filing penalties.