Better tax literacy can help young people make informed financial decisions
The Government should do more to ensure young people have a basic understanding of the tax system, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Elisa Sofocli, a Partner at the firm, said: “International Youth Day (12th August) is a reminder that young people are not simply the workforce of tomorrow, they are the future of the UK’s tax base, businesses and economy. To secure that future, the Government should ensure young people have a basic understanding of the tax system before they enter the workplace.”
She added: “With A-level results day approaching, many young people are making some of their first major decisions about university, apprenticeships and employment. The education system should be giving them the knowledge and confidence to understand those choices, including how the tax system fits into them. Better tax literacy can help young people make more informed financial decisions and understand the contribution they are making to society.”
Elisa said: “The Government should think beyond simply getting young people into their first job. They should have the opportunity to become the entrepreneurs who build businesses, the professionals who drive growth and, ultimately, the investors who help create and fund the next generation of UK companies. Supporting young people into work is not just a social objective; it is an important part of building a sustainable economy and a strong future tax base.”
She added: “Tax can seem complicated and remote, but it affects almost every aspect of working life, from the first payslip and pension contributions to saving, investing and eventually running a business. But according to HMRC’s recent Individuals Customer Experience and Perceptions Survey 2025 only two in five people said they were confident in dealing with taxes, benefits, and allowances.”
Elisa said: “Tax education should be about more than teaching young people what percentage of their salary is deducted from their payslip. It is about helping them understand why tax exists, how the system is designed to work, and how different decisions, whether going to university, taking an apprenticeship, starting a business or investing can interact with the tax system. That knowledge can give people greater confidence as they move into working life.”
She added: “As tax advisers, our role should not stop at explaining legislation once policy has been announced. We see every day how tax rules operate in practice, where they create incentives, where they create unintended consequences and where complexity can sometimes discourage the behaviour policymakers are trying to encourage. That gives us a responsibility to feed that experience back into the policy debate and help policymakers understand how changes may work in practice.”
Elisa said: “The UK needs a tax system that raises the revenue required to fund public services while remaining understandable and capable of supporting growth. The decisions being made today will shape the working lives of young people – and indeed the underlying economic health of the whole of the UK – for decades to come. The Government should be asking not only whether a policy works today, but whether it creates the right incentives and opportunities for the generation that will inherit it. If young people are to participate, contribute and succeed, giving them a better understanding of the system they are entering has to be part of that.”
