Financial Secretary gives details on Government's plans to make tax digital

Financial Secretary, Mel Stride, gave details to the House of Commons on the Government's planned changes to the tax system. The Financial Secretary updated the House on HMRC's progress on delivering modernisation of the tax system.

"It has never been more important for businesses to be able to seize the opportunities that digital technology offers. Making tax digital helps them to do just that."

He stressed that the purpose of Making Tax Digital (MTD) was not to change what businesses are doing, by altering tax rules or frequency of reporting, but rather to make it easier for businesses to report what they were already doing. He talked about changes that had been made in the period since the announcement of MTD to prepare for a full rollout and said that it was ready to be implemented.

Responding, Peter Dowd, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said that the Opposition supported digitalised tax reporting, but expressed concern at the Government's handling of the transition. He outlined Labour's proposes to delay MTD to 2022, or the end of parliament, to enable businesses and HMRC to better prepare for the change. He said

"The Financial Secretary says he wants to listen to business, but I'm afraid he isn't listening hard enough, and the rosy picture he paints isn't quite as rosy as he thinks."

• Watch Parliament TV: statement on making tax digital
• Read Commons Hansard: statement on making tax digital
• Find out more about the Government's plans to make tax digital (external site)

Image: iStock

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