Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Rejected
Stakeholder engagement in MTD design sees little action on concerns, undermining confidence.
Conclusion
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 making tax easier, told the NAO that they had concerns about the programme. Many felt that while they were consulted often by HMRC, they saw little action to resolve longstanding concerns and that closer working with tax professional could help resolve matters more quickly.37 Professional bodies told us they had been involved in the design and consultation of the Making Tax Digital programme with HMRC from its inception. For example, ATT had been heavily involved in a consultative capacity in the development to date and ICAEW said it had been very actively engaged with the making tax digital (MTD) programme since the announcement in Spring Budget 2015. But while stakeholders supported the objective of the programme, significant delays have undermined confidence in the programme, and some expressed concerns that HMRC had not consulted with them in the most productive way.38
Government Response Summary
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 to consider taxpayer experience.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. A priority for government is to make it easy for taxpayers to get tax right. However, it needs to balance several objectives for the tax system, including raising revenue and tackling the tax gap. While these often align, there can be trade-offs to consider. HMRC regularly engages a range of taxpayer representatives, including the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (ABAB), as new services are developed and to better understand issues faced by taxpayers. ABAB provides valuable insight, including on MTD for ITSA, where its views were important in informing the announcements made in the 2023 Autumn Statement. HMRC has also established an expert panel to consult on digital improvement ideas which provides insight into how to implement changes and provide the right support for vulnerable or digitally excluded customers. As part of HMRC’s governance, the Customer Experience Committee, which includes independent expert advisers, provides advice on customer-experience issues. HMRC shares plans for digital improvements with this committee. The government has recently enhanced existing processes which support policy and service delivery, ensuring these consider improving taxpayers’ experience. This includes improving training and internal guidance for policy officials; introducing checkpoints in the policy making process where senior officials review measures from a simplification and customer experience perspective; and ensuring advice to ministers sets out how a measure contributes to making the tax system simpler, fairer or supports growth. HMRC also runs research programmes to build understanding of customer needs, publishing analyses of impacts on individuals and businesses in Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs).