Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
2
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
It is unacceptable that seven years in, with £640 million of taxpayer’s money spent on the programme as a whole, so many questions remain about how Making Tax Digital for Self Assessment will work. HMRC originally intended to introduce Making Tax Digital for Self Assessment from 2018. But after just …
Government response. The government disagreed with the recommendation, stating it is not possible to robustly estimate the separate effects of frequent vs. digital submissions. They have instead applied MTD for VAT evaluation findings to MTD for ITSA, expecting a 15% tax gap …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
HMRC’s design of Making Tax Digital has not taken sufficient account of the realities facing business taxpayers and agents. HMRC’s key aim for the programme is to make it easier for taxpayers to get their tax right and help reduce the amount of tax lost due to errors. While Making …
Government response. The government disagreed with the recommendation, explaining that while a priority is to make tax easy, they already engage extensively with taxpayer representatives (ABAB, expert panel, Customer Experience Committee) and conduct research to understand customer needs, publishing findings in TIINs.
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
HMRC also told us about the external events that contributed to the delays in the programme’s delivery. These included EU Exit and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on business taxpayers’ readiness and engagement, and government policy announcements, in particular the Health and Social Care Levy in 2021.13 HMRC told us that …
Government response. The government disagrees with the committee’s implicit finding of £1.75 billion in missed tax revenue due to MTD for Self-Assessment delays, providing its own OBR-certified benefit forecasts for MTD for ITSA.
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
We asked HMRC to explain what Making Tax Digital was expected to deliver for the taxpayer, Exchequer and HMRC when the programme was launched in 2015. It said that Making Tax Digital aimed to make it easier for small businesses and landlords to get their tax right by requiring them …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation, stating that it's not possible to robustly disaggregate the effects of MTD components, and presents evidence from MTD for VAT and OBR-certified MTD for ITSA benefits showing significant tax revenue reduction from error and …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
We received written evidence from taxpayer and agent representatives that expressed their concerns over the additional burdens that Making Tax Digital would impose on businesses and taxpayers. For example, Crundell & Co Accountancy Ltd told us that Making Tax Digital for VAT increased administrative burdens and cost to taxpayers and …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation regarding additional burdens, stating its priority to make tax easy must balance with raising revenue and tackling the tax gap. It highlights regular engagement with taxpayer representatives and enhanced policy processes to consider taxpayer …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
We asked HMRC about the burdens that the Self Assessment programme would place on small businesses. HMRC told us that it had heard the same concerns ahead of the introduction of the programme for VAT as now existed for Self Assessment.25 It told us that, while “the prospect of it …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation regarding burdens on small businesses, asserting its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It describes ongoing engagement with taxpayer representatives and recent enhancements to policy …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
We asked HMRC to explain what exactly it was aiming for with the introduction of quarterly updates through digital record keeping, given it was a source of concern for its stakeholders. HMRC said its aim was for customers to keep records in near real-time to help close the tax gap. …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation regarding the aim of quarterly updates, reiterating its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It details continuous engagement with taxpayer representatives and improved internal processes …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
We also received written evidence from the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), which told us that going back as early as 2016 it had repeatedly raised concerns about the additional cost and administrative burden Making Tax Digital will add to taxpayers, especially those on lower incomes or who find …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation regarding concerns for vulnerable taxpayers and support, stating its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It references ongoing engagement with taxpayer representatives and enhanced policy …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
We asked HMRC, given the concerns about additional burdens on customers, how it would ensure that businesses complied with the programme and compliance didn’t decline. HMRC explained that there were two key requirements that it believed will foster good compliance from business taxpayers using software. The first was a requirement …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation on ensuring compliance, stating its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It highlights regular engagement with taxpayer representatives and enhanced policy processes to consider taxpayer …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
Many of the programme’s stakeholders support the idea of digitalising the tax system.34 We received written evidence from The Association of Tax Technicians (ATT), which told us that it welcomed digital record keeping and the modernisation of the tax system but that it remained concerned about the deliverability of the …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation on stakeholder support for digitalization and concerns about deliverability, stating its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It highlights regular engagement with taxpayer representatives and …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
The NAO found that the success of the programme for Self Assessment will in part depend on working effectively with tax professionals to ensure smooth design, delivery and implementation of the programme. However, many stakeholders including HMRC’s own Administrative Burdens Advisory Board, which independently provides critical support to HMRC in …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation regarding effective collaboration with tax professionals, stating its priority to make tax easy must balance with raising revenue and tackling the tax gap. It highlights regular engagement with taxpayer representatives and enhanced policy processes …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
In December 2022, HMRC established a plan to work with its stakeholders to solve issues. In March 2023 it started exploring with taxpayer and agent representatives how quarterly updates could work in practice. It explained that it was looking to adopt a “co- creation” approach where it asked taxpayers how …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation on HMRC's plans for working with stakeholders, stating its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It highlights regular engagement with taxpayer representatives and enhanced policy …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Eightieth Report - Progress with Making…
Rejected
Stakeholders such as the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) remain concerned about how realistic HMRC’s plans for implementation are as well as HMRC’s lack of concern or planning for low income and vulnerable taxpayers.41 We also heard that stakeholders had fed back issues and worries about the programme on …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's observation regarding ongoing stakeholder concerns about implementation and support for vulnerable taxpayers, stating its priority is to make tax easy while balancing revenue raising and tackling the tax gap. It highlights regular engagement with taxpayer …
HM Treasury