HMRC's Making Tax Digital project labelled 'pointless' by a major accountancy firm
Blick Rothenberg said 'Making Tax Digital', which requires taxpayers to report quarterly rather than annually, would not lead to any additional revenue for HMRC.
The Government announced plans for MTD in 2015 and up until now, it has only applied to VAT reporting.
However, from April 2026, businesses and the self-employed with a gross income of £50,000 or more in the year to 5 April 2025, will be required to report their income and expenditure.
They will also need to file their taxes quarterly, with the first filing due by 7 August 2026.
From April 2027, this will extend to those with a gross income of £30,000 a year and from 2028, those earning £20,000.
Fiona Fernie, a partner at Blick Rothenberg says: 'This will not change their actual tax liabilities or the payment dates on which income tax has to be paid. Which begs the question, what is the point of MTD?'
HMRC has previously said that MTD is designed to make it easier for businesses to keep on top of their tax affairs.
Fernie said: 'However, this is a weak attempt to justify the introduction of MTD, as it is perfectly possible to obtain these benefits by using an up-to-date spreadsheet and the Government Gateway.
'MTD requires businesses and individuals to pay for third-party software to do their returns as opposed to these free methods./'
She adds: 'Because of this, I find it difficult to believe… that businesses already using MTD are reporting saving on admin time, reductions in input errors and increased confidence in managing their tax affairs.
'It is not possible to determine whether people are making more accurate returns because they use MTD. Data entry is just as likely to be done incorrectly on an MTD platform as on a spreadsheet or the Government Gateway.'
A recent report by the Public Accounts Committee said MTD would generate extra revenue but cost self-assessment taxpayers £200million more than they save, which is 'completely intolerable'.
It also said that while HMRC was pushing taxpayers online, it had 'allowed' its legacy IT systems to 'become out of date'.
Fernie added: 'The concept that taxpayers are hit with an obligation to file additional returns, but will not be provided with the means to do so unless they incur a cost feels unfair.
'This appears to fly in the face of the taxpayers' charter which specifically states: "We'll provide services that are designed around what you need to do, and are accessible, easy and quick to use, minimising the cost to you."'
HMRC was contacted for comment.
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