Big Four firm gives advice for TaxAid
As TaxAid expands its service – looking for a new ‘Big Four’ base in Manchester – a team from PricewaterhouseCoopers in Birmingham share their experience of working with TaxAid:
“A group of managers and senior managers from Tax are giving up their time and putting their expertise to a different kind of use, all in the name of charity.
A team of colleagues in the Birmingham office have put themselves forward to act on behalf of TaxAid – a charity which gives free tax advice to people who can’t afford a professional adviser. Every month they set aside an afternoon to hold individual meetings with people from the local area who have approached TaxAid for help.
Senior manager Peter Houghton says: “Usually people come to us with problems and they can be quite desperate for help. It’s really rewarding that we’re able to help them then and there and they can go away with a problem solved. It can be anything from completing tax returns to resolving disputes with the Revenue. We recently had someone walk in with a £5000 tax demand and walk out with £800 owed to them! For people with very little money, that’s a huge difference.”
The team are also making the most of their involvement by taking more junior colleagues with them to the meetings. Peter continues: “It’s a great way to give our people a different experience of using their tax knowledge – it’s a different way of working, a different challenge and it’s great to see how what we do can really make a difference.”
Our involvement in Birmingham was the first time that TaxAid has offered this service outside of London. Other TaxAid drop-in centres are now being rolled out in other cities such as Manchester and Newcastle.”