Recommendation 18

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 multiple occasions, through numerous communication channels, with no acknowledgement or confirmation they were being listened to or acted upon. For example, the trade body for software developers, Business Application Software Developer Association (BASDA) said it had, “flagged concerns with HMRC and FSTs [Financial Secretary to the Treasury] over the past few years regarding the need for a more fit-for-purpose scope (and accompanying policy areas) along with service delivery and engagement with our industry – citing concerns across all key areas” and “regrettably, there was little productive engagement that gave BASDA and its members confidence that the key issues were going to be properly investigated and resolved in a timely manner”.42 HMRC told us that it “was not going to overlook the need to involve our stakeholders fully so we have a full understanding of all the issues” and that it recognised it had urgent matters to resolve and it had “the right mechanisms in place to bring those designs to fruition as soon as possible”.43 The costs of Making Tax Digital on customers