This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Please read our policies for more information.

10 Chartered Accountants

News

House of Lords calls for a delay to Making Tax Digital
12 December 2018

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has criticised HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for its handling of Making Tax Digital (MTD) and called for a delay to some of the regime’s mandatory requirements.

The majority of VAT-registered businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold of £85,000 will need to keep digital records and file their VAT returns using HMRC-compliant software or methods on a quarterly basis from April 2019.

However, having reviewed the requirements for MTD and its promotion by HMRC to businesses, the committee has recommended that the new rules for VAT should not be made mandatory next year and should instead allow businesses to ‘go digital’ at their own pace.

The Lords also recommended that the Government wait until April 2022 to apply MTD to other taxes to give HMRC time to learn lessons from the implementation of digital taxation on VAT.

Within its report, Making Tax Digital for VAT: Treating Small Businesses Fairly, the committee was also highly critical of HMRC’s public promotion of the new regime, which only began in any significant way several months ago.

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, Chairman of the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee that authored the report, said: “HMRC has neglected its responsibility to support small businesses with MTD for VAT.

“Small businesses will not be ready for this significant change to their practices, especially with Brexit taking place three days earlier,” he added.

The committee’s report has already gained the backing of a number of leading accountancy organisations, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and the Association of Tax Technicians (ATT).

Link: Making Tax Digital for VAT: Treating Small Businesses Fairly

Other recent news

What are the implications of MTD for ITSA for SMEs?
22 March 2024

The introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment…
Read more

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 – Understanding the impact on pay in the hospitality sector
22 March 2024

In a significant development for the hospitality industry, the Employment…
Read more

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 – Companies House changes now in effect
22 March 2024

The initial provisions of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency…
Read more

Run your business from home? Get to know your VAT entitlement
22 March 2024

If you are a business owner and work or run…
Read more

Holiday accrual to come in for zero-hours workers
22 March 2024

Following changes to the Working Time Regulations 1998 in January…
Read more

»

Case Studies