Making tax easier - the death of the tax return.

[AtW]

Close reading of the draft Finance Bill 2017 has uncovered another annual submission which taxpayers will be required to send to HMRC.

What we were told

In March 2015, when George Osborne outlined the new concept of “making tax easier”, he said it would herald the death of the tax return. All the tax information relevant to an individual would be gathered into the taxpayer’s digital tax account, and the annual paper tax return would be consigned to history.

This was sold as reduction in the administrative burden for taxpayers, but by the end of 2015 we were told that Making Tax Digital (no longer easier) would involve sending HMRC four updates per year. Accountants started to grumble that this would mean effectively four tax returns per year instead of one.

I have now discovered that the tax return is not disappearing; it is merely changing its name, and that MTDfB will involve five additional submissions per year, not four

Source: MTD: Taxpayers must make six submissions to HMRC | AccountingWEB

[NotAllThere]

Getting rid of the tax return is easy. All money is first paid to HMRC who then decide how much to pass on to you.

[fullyautomatix]

Getting rid of the tax return is easy. All money is first paid to HMRC who then decide how much to pass on to you.

[barrydidit]

It is worth noting that a set of quarterly updates will be required for each trade or business undertaken by the taxpayer. Thus, a self-employed individual who also has some rental income will have to submit a set of quarterly updates for their self-employed trade, and another set of quarterly updates for their lettings business.

From the comments section:

I have a great tax simplification idea.

Why don't we just file one annual tax return that covers all trades and sources of income and a final declaration that you have included all income?

Sound familiar?

I seriously wonder what planet the civil servants in the Treasury and HMRC are living on.

Very Much So.

[Paddy]

Close reading of the draft Finance Bill 2017 has uncovered another annual submission which taxpayers will be required to send to HMRC.

What we were told

In March 2015, when George Osborne outlined the new concept of “making tax easier”, he said it would herald the death of the tax return. All the tax information relevant to an individual would be gathered into the taxpayer’s digital tax account, and the annual paper tax return would be consigned to history.

This was sold as reduction in the administrative burden for taxpayers, but by the end of 2015 we were told that Making Tax Digital (no longer easier) would involve sending HMRC four updates per year. Accountants started to grumble that this would mean effectively four tax returns per year instead of one.

I have now discovered that the tax return is not disappearing; it is merely changing its name, and that MTDfB will involve five additional submissions per year, not four

Source: MTD: Taxpayers must make six submissions to HMRC | AccountingWEB

It’s ironic that nincompoops voted for Brexit so they would have less bureaucracy. Another Brexit lie.

[barrydidit]

It’s ironic that nincompoops voted for Brexit so they would have less bureaucracy. Another Brexit lie.

Since most of this happened in 2015, I have to admire that observation.