Budget 2015 - Phasing out of Tax returns – how will this affect you?

No doubt there was a sigh of relief from a lot of people when the phasing out of tax returns was announced in the Budget (“our Christmas/New Year/skiing holiday will no longer be interrupted by thoughts of the 31 January tax return deadline”)

We will have to see how workable the proposed alternatives are. Very little detail of how this is going to work have been provided, other than HMRC will deal with the tax affairs of taxpayers by collating information received from employers, banks, investment firms and other third parties into a single digital tax account. 

But:

Will HMRC ask taxpayers to confirm their income before issuing a bill? 
What happens when something goes wrong – will the taxpayer get a penalty even if they have not provided the information themselves? 
Will banks and 3rd parties send copies of information submitted to HMRC to taxpayers so that they can check the information is correct?

At face value this sounds like a popular proposal by the Government but as someone who has dealt with HMRC for more years than I care to admit, do I think this sounds like a better system than the current system? 

I am feeling somewhat cynical but hope these feelings will prove to be misplaced!

Blog written by Karen Oliver, Tax Manager at Plus Accounting.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk