I was looking at the CTA curriculum and mentally comparing it with that of a typical accounting or law course.
To my mind, it seems a bit thin when you think of all the tax law learned by accountants and by law students doing commercial law specialisms.
Before anyone says "Ah but a good share of the CTAs already *are* accountants or solicitors/barristers!" let me say yes - but not all of them. I see people from technical/science/non-commercial backgrounds who don't want to work in those fields and who get some kind of articleship with an accounting or law firm and then become their "resident tax expert" . . .
But I am wondering if the CTA qualification - alone - really allows them to claim such expertise. Surely an ACA or tax lawyer would have a more thorough knowledge of the tax situation in all but the more straightforward situations ?
To my mind, it seems a bit thin when you think of all the tax law learned by accountants and by law students doing commercial law specialisms.
Before anyone says "Ah but a good share of the CTAs already *are* accountants or solicitors/barristers!" let me say yes - but not all of them. I see people from technical/science/non-commercial backgrounds who don't want to work in those fields and who get some kind of articleship with an accounting or law firm and then become their "resident tax expert" . . .
But I am wondering if the CTA qualification - alone - really allows them to claim such expertise. Surely an ACA or tax lawyer would have a more thorough knowledge of the tax situation in all but the more straightforward situations ?