Self-assessors to play Revenue’s mind games

Taxpayers would in future have to sign their self-assessment form in advance of completing it under a new proposal, predicated on honesty disclaimers at the beginning being lived up to more than those at the end.

Research by the Cabinet Office’s Behavioural Insights Team is tipped to show that committing to a declaration of truth at the top of a tax document, rather than at its bottom, can even reduce fraud by 10 per cent.

The psychological ploy is just one in a series aimed at saving the government hundreds of millions of pounds by getting people to lie less, which ministers will propose this week, The Sunday Telegraph reported.  

Other changes to tax forms could see those who refuse to pay immediately informed that they are in a small minority locally, as the Insights Team believe that taxpayers are more likely to settle up if told that 95% of their neighbourhood has paid already. 

In terms of a carrot to accompany the stick approach, the proposals could even see the taxman encourage people to pay their liabilities early, with the incentive being that prompt payers would have their name entered into a lottery to win a cash prize.