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Making Tax Digital

I have not so far at any rate understood what possible benefit (that might compensate for the imposed administrative burden) HMRC might gain from requiring taxpayers to submit quarterly updates on sales income and the like. After all income tax is an annual tax.

So it was with some potential excitement that I read Andrew Hubbard’s first question to HMRC’s Theresa Middleton in ‘Digitalisation: HMRC’s perspective’ (Taxation 3 November 2016). Ah I thought. Just the question I wanted answered.

And then I read Middleton’s reply – four times. Am I any the wiser? You bet I’m not. This is my take on the Civil Service speak used in her reply to this (and to my mind most important) question.

She said: ‘HMRC will use the in-year updates to provide estimates of tax liability evolving each quarter as the information...