Delay Making Tax Digital plans, Chancellor urged
MPs, accountants, software specialists and small businesses have called on the Chancellor to delay the introduction of the Making Tax Digital agenda, which aims to make buy-to-let landlords and the self-employed file their accounts digitally. The pressure on Philip Hammond has been mounting since the Treasury Select Committee recommended that the programme be delayed from April next year “until at least 2019, possibly later”. It has also been suggested that only businesses with a turnover of £83,000 or more should be affected, instead of the proposed threshold of £10,000. The Federation of Small Businesses has written to Mr Hammond, saying: “While accepting the benefits of the Making Tax Digital agenda, we are now pushing for a series of changes to the proposals to make them a success. These include delaying the implementation to at least 2019, so that it is not rushed; increasing the threshold of the scheme to match the VAT threshold of £83,000; and phasing in implementation from larger firms down to the smallest, learning the lessons of pensions auto-enrolment.”