Welcome your opinion on Making Tax Digital being put on ice. There seemed to be only one likely outcome for the introduction of MTD for Income Tax, given the gargantuan task ahead. Educating millions of businesses is a massive task for the Government and accountants alike. As the announcement trickled through, you could hear the sighs of relief from accountants. It’s a bit of history repeated, with echoes of the delays from the first phase of MTD three years ago. Yet, this was a more obvious decision to take, arguably, bearing in mind this change is vastly more complex. And not just for business and accountants, but for HMRC too. The apparent lack of knowledge and understanding about MTD among smaller businesses has been evidenced in various surveys, such as accounting Firm Mazuma’s, which uncovered that 83% of Plumbers are not ready. Okay, not all our clients are plumbers, but it does highlight the depth of the problem. But… is it good to have more time? Will we simply put it off until the last minute again? Or is it the right move given the pandemic and the complexities? Here are the opinions of a few people @EvaMrazikova spoke to recently: Rebecca Bennyworth, ex-Chair of ICAEW Tax Faculty, believes the delay gives “time to be ready for the mandatory start date” but that accountants should not let up in preparations. Oxford Tax Professor Judith Freedman believes “many people will be relieved by deferral of MTD for ITSA , but this does show just how hard it is to reform tax administration, since other changes must await this one. We need to be thinking now about 20 years hence, not just 10.” So that’s three opinions. What are your thoughts?

Posted by Accountants' Club at 2021-10-31 20:36:38 UTC