Tax Professional? What To Expect in 2015 and What This Means For Your Earning Potential

Two of the countries leading economic review bodies have declared that the UK economy is set to improve by an average of 2.5% during 2015 and this could be great news for recruitment in the tax sector.

The European Commissions and the British Chamber of Commerce have both agreed that the UK is set to have an improved economy during 2015. While the actual level of improvement may have been slightly downgraded from 2.7% to 2.5%, the outlook is still rosy. The Bank of England have also predicted growth of approximately 3% (0.5% less than this year) and at this level they do not expect that interest rates will need to be increased at least during the first half of 2015.

What these figures appear to show is that growth in most sectors is easing off – but has by no means stopped. In fact, 2015 is looking like it will be steady in growth terms for most sectors and this could have great implications for those working on the tax industry.

While the growth may be slowing, there are a few fundamentals that are true of the UK economy.

• According to PwC, households are starting to spend more now due to a perceived improvement in their economic situation – even if their take home pay hasn't increased.
• There have been improvements in the personal tax allowance, low interest rates and low unemployment rates – all leading to increased positivity.

Let's take interest rates as one example. The slowing of growth will mean that interest rates remain low. For any business wishing to expand, this is great news. Business loans will be cheap to service, allowing business owners the chance to take on new staff and improve their profits in the long term. These business owners will also need advice on their tax affairs and strategies for their expansions.

This could be especially good news for entrepreneurs. Those sectors that are still seeing huge growth are technology, construction and manufacturing and anyone wishing to move into these sectors are also having the benefit of entrepreneurial loans and tax breaks from the government. Clearly this signals opportunities for the recruitment of taxation specialists.

8 months ago, we suggested that whilst there had been improvements in salaries for tax professionals due to expanding growth across all sectors ultimately the salary levels of tax staff had not reflected this change.

 “Despite real evidence that the market for tax professionals, is moving ahead at the fastest pace in several years, the salary levels of tax professionals have not necessarily reflected the changes we are seeing in the economy.”

I can now state that we are seeing an improvement in salaries for tax professionals in much of the SE, midlands and parts of the North.  

There is no reason why this cannot continue. The changing market has seen movement in recruitment terms. People are changing jobs, improving their salaries and starting to see better offers - even from within their current roles.

This positivity is likely to only gather pace. The best candidates are finding great jobs within burgeoning businesses – buoyed by government help, low interest rates and improved taxation benefits. It really is a win win.