Budget 2015 – Big Brother is watching you!

The announcement on BBC radio this morning that tax returns were being abolished caused some speculation in the office, and the Chancellor’s speech did little to clear up the mystery.

However, the lunch-time reporting gave a more accurate picture, announcing that end of year paper returns would be scrapped in favour of real-time online accounts by 2020.

Whilst the average employee with a small amount of savings may have known that HMRC already held all the necessary information to work out their tax bill, the idea of having a personal account with HMRC will not necessarily be attractive to all.

By 2020 we are told, the accounting software of a business will be able to feed data straight to their digital account with HMRC, and both individuals and businesses will have the option to ‘pay as you go’.

If you would like more information on this topic, please contact a member of the tax team at your local office – we would be delighted to advise you.