Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with organisations representing self-employed people on the potential effect on such people of implementing quarterly tax returns from 2020.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has no plans to introduce quarterly tax returns for business. The Government is introducing simple, secure and personalised digital tax accounts, removing the need for annual tax returns. Updating HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) through software or apps will deliver a light-touch process, much less burdensome and time-consuming than it is today.

The Government will consult on the details of these proposals throughout 2016 and will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) in the usual way. This will include an estimate of the impacts on business. The Government routinely publish TIINs for tax policy changes when the policy detail for those changes is finalised or near-finalised.

HMRC has discussed these reforms with a range of professional bodies and advisory groups representing small businesses and the self-employed. HMRC has also engaged extensively with a range of professional bodies and other stakeholders representing the accountancy profession.

On 14 December 2015, HMRC set out details of its plans at its annual stakeholder conference, which was attended by a large number of different organisations representing small businesses.