Institute licenses Taxation Institute of Hong Kong to award Chartered Tax Adviser status

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has announced that it has licensed The Taxation Institute of Hong Kong (TIHK) to grant the designation ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’ to its members as the next step in developing the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) brand as a leading international standard in tax.

This follows the granting of the same right to the Irish Tax Institute (ITI) and The Tax Institute (TTI) in Australia in 2012.

Under the agreement, nearly 1,900 members of TIHK will be able to convert their existing Certified Tax Adviser qualification to Chartered Tax Adviser, joining the existing 19,000 CIOT members, more than 5,000 ITI members and more than 7,000 members of TTI who can already call themselves Chartered Tax Advisers.

CIOT President Glyn Fullelove commented:

“I welcome the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong and its members to the growing international community of more than 30,000 Chartered Tax Advisers.

“Like CIOT, ITI and TTI, TIHK is committed to high professional standards, training, technical knowledge and exams, and to the promotion of tax education and research. The four institutes share a commitment to increasing public understanding of tax matters and to engaging constructively with legislators and tax authorities in the pursuit of a tax system which works effectively and efficiently for all involved with it – taxpayers, their advisers and the authorities.

“By granting the right to designate Chartered Tax Advisers to carefully chosen tax bodies in other countries we are pursuing our aim of recognising and promoting the highest standards of tax advice internationally.

“The Chartered Tax Adviser brand is highly recognised and very well respected in the UK, but is less well known elsewhere. With tax becoming increasingly globalised, and our members travelling to and working in more and more countries, we believe it will benefit our members to raise the profile of the designation internationally. We want it to be the global ‘go-to’ brand for high quality tax advice.”

You can view Jeremy Choi's video message to Glyn Fullelove and the members of CIOT here

TTI President Peter Godber CTA commented:

“The Tax Institute is delighted to welcome the Tax Institute of Hong Kong (TIHK) to the CTA family. We look forward to working with the team in Hong Kong to ensure professional standards in our respective tax communities are maintained at the very highest standards and to collaborate on initiatives, which support the knowledge and learning endeavours of practitioners seeking to achieve this marque of excellence in tax.

“Australia’s tax community has benefitted from the CTA status since 2012. Our ability to confer the CTA designation upon tax professionals who meet the exacting standards of this qualification has served to reinforce the Tax Institute’s role as the leading forum for the Tax community in Australia. It is incredibly exciting that TIHK can join us in expanding the global community of CTAs through this new agreement.”

Chief Executive of the Irish Tax Institute Martin Lambe also welcomed TIHK to the global Chartered Tax Adviser community:

“The Chartered Tax Adviser qualification is the gold standard in tax and the international mark of excellence in tax advice. The expansion of our community to include TIHK is a really important development for the tax profession around the world.  We look forward to working with our colleagues in Hong Kong in promoting the highest standards of tax education and the role of tax profession in serving the best interests of taxpayers at a time of considerable change in the approach to global taxation.”

Notes for editors

1. Under the agreement between CIOT and TIHK:

CIOT grants to TIHK an exclusive* licence to use the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) designation in Hong Kong;
Qualifying members of TIHK can convert their Certified Tax Adviser designation to Chartered Tax Adviser;
Within 12 months, TIHK will change the name of its qualifying examinations from Certified Tax Adviser to Chartered Tax Adviser.
* Save that members of CIOT who practise in Hong Kong providing advice on Hong Kong and/or PRC tax may do so subject to compliance with applicable rules or regulations of CIOT and providing they have sufficient knowledge and competency in Hong Kong and PRC tax law and practice.

The agreement is the culmination of discussions between CIOT and TIHK which began in 2018.

2. In 2015 CIOT, ITI and TTI published guidance for tax institutes seeking a licence from the CIOT to grant the designations ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’ and ‘CTA’. This is set out in the document ‘Becoming an Institute licensed to award Chartered Tax Adviser designation – Guidance for Applicants’, together with examples of how the requirements might be met in a document entitled ‘Becoming an Institute licensed to award Chartered Tax Adviser designation – Examples of evidence required’.

Briefly, the guidance explains that the CIOT will, in carefully defined circumstances, license tax bodies in other countries to designate their members – or where appropriate, a subset of their members – as Chartered Tax Advisers (CTAs), where the CIOT are satisfied and confident that:

The qualifications, professional standards and other requirements for membership of the tax body (or qualifying subset) are broadly equivalent to the CIOT’s own;
It is the highest professional standard for tax advice in the relevant jurisdiction.

There is an information note about clients, employers and others can expect from a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) here.

3. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)

The CIOT is the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT is an educational charity, promoting education and study of the administration and practice of taxation. One of our key aims is to work for a better, more efficient, tax system for all affected by it – taxpayers, their advisers and the authorities. The CIOT’s work covers all aspects of taxation, including direct and indirect taxes and duties. Through our Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), the CIOT has a particular focus on improving the tax system, including tax credits and benefits, for the unrepresented taxpayer.

The CIOT draws on our members’ experience in private practice, commerce and industry, government and academia to improve tax administration and propose and explain how tax policy objectives can most effectively be achieved. We also link to, and draw on, similar leading professional tax bodies in other countries. The CIOT’s comments and recommendations on tax issues are made in line with our charitable objectives: we are politically neutral in our work.

The CIOT’s 19,000 members have the practising title of ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’ and the designatory letters ‘CTA’, to represent the leading tax qualification.

Contact: Hamant Verma, External Relations Officer, 0207 340 2702 HVerma@ciot.org.uk (Out of hours contact: George Crozier, 07740 477 374)