PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Self-assessment (8 February 2017)

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs assessed the effect of introducing its Making Tax Digital proposals on (a) freelance workers in the creative industries and (b) other specific sectors as part of its recent impact assessment of the net cost to businesses of implementing those proposals.

Asked by:
Kerry McCarthy (Labour)

The Government published an updated impact assessment on 31 January alongside its response to the Making Tax Digital consultations. HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) assessment estimated the impacts averaged across the entire unincorporated business population, using established models, consultation feedback, stakeholder engagement and internal insight.

The consultation Bringing Business Tax into the Digital Age asked a number of questions about the impact on specific businesses, and received helpful responses. HMRC will carry out live testing starting with small numbers of businesses in April 2017, building up to several hundred thousand by 2018. The evidence collected through this exercise will help HMRC to better understand the impact on various sectors.

Answered by:
Jane Ellison (Conservative)
20 February 2017