By now you’re probably sick of hearing about Making Tax Digital. You’ve seen it advertised on the tube, T.V and you know it is being implemented on the 31st March.
Recently, discussions have been had in the House of Commons relating to Making Tax Digital addressing the progress and causes of concerns that are still being aired – here is a summary of what the updates the Government is providing.
The major cause of concern from small businesses is the implications of not being able to get the transfer to MTD software right and what it means for them. However, HMRC has confirmed through their statements that “Penalties will to be issued for late filing but only for late payment in the first year”, and they are looking to have a light approach to penalties, working with companies and businesses to make sure that the MTD roll out is a success.
81% of businesses are aware of MTD 19% are not.
Another stress that a lot of businesses have raised is the number of choices of MTD compatible software that the government has provided. This comes after many have questioned why HMRC are not providing their own software
Our Holy Brook Finance Team understands that this worry about choosing between 180 MTD compatible software. We understand that as a small business you may not have any idea which software choices will work well and which software will suit your business, so we are happy to work with you to understand your needs and advise you on the best software. HMRC has acknowledged this concern but has replied that they are not producing their own MTD software as they believe that the “market generally knows best”. We believe this is an advantage as it gives the user the opportunity to select a software that suits them the best.
Mel Stride, Financial secretary to the Treasury said that “it has never been more important for businesses to be able to seize the opportunities that digital technology offers. It gives businesses more control over their finance, allowing them to spend time focusing on innovation, growth and the creation of jobs” – and we couldn’t support this more!
We believe that this transition to digital record keeping is beneficial to businesses and the whole tax system. We will help support you on every step of this journey.
If you want to know more about Making Tax Digital or have any other causes of concern, we hope to see as many of you at our Making Tax Digital event on the 12th March
Statement from the House of Commons regarding MTD can be found here