Recommendation 9

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 to keep good records using software. HMRC told us that small businesses accounted for about 48% of the tax gap, which was £15.6 billion overall in 2020–21. It further explained that about £9 billion of the tax gap was down to simple errors and failure to take reasonable care and that was what Making Tax Digital was aiming to address. Making Tax Digital was originally approved with the expectation it would reduce the burdens on customers because digital record keeping would make tax submissions easier.22