MTD 7/7 Transforming the tax system through the better use of information
November 7, 2016I found it hard to engage with this particular consultation, because as far as I can see it’s about the stuff that HMRC ought to be doing to make taxpayers’ lives easier – gather and make use of third party information more efficiently and effectively. This includes handling information securely, and will, presumably, soak up a great deal of the funding that they have been promised for MTD, because they’ll need to redesign and/or replace existing and legacy systems which are no longer cutting edge or even fit for purpose.
Why consult? Get on with it, is my view, so I don’t feel I have anything useful to add.
(Except that I’d really like to see some figures on this:
We know that not everyone is ready or able to use digital services. People have a range of needs and we will continue to provide extra support for those who need help. HMRC’s Needs Extra Support Service (NES) provides extra help to customers with additional needs by providing both telephony and face to face specialist contact. NES supports customers through digital tax account registration and queries and for face to face customers, access to digital accounts will be facilitated, via tablets for example. This, along with other existing mechanisms (such as tele-filing and home visits), which support digitally excluded customers in providing their tax information to HMRC, will continue
How many visits are made by how many staff, and how does that compare with the numbers who used to use enquiry centres when they existed?)
The consultation document is here, the email address for responses is processtransformation.mtd@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and the consultation, like all the other MTD consultations, closes at quarter to midnight tonight, Monday 7th November 2016. Good luck!
tiintax 
Leave a Reply