Taxation: Electronic Government
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a providing a free, government-run service for submitting tax returns as part of Making Tax Digital.
Answered by Treasury
The government has worked closely with the software industry to ensure the availability of a broad range of MTD-compatible products to suit different needs and budgets.
This includes free products supporting those with the simplest affairs, low-cost bridging software for those who prefer to continue using spreadsheets and more sophisticated products that integrate with other business software.
Currently, there are more than 20 free products (excluding free trials) covering a range of different scenarios including bookkeeping, quarterly updates and end-of-year submissions
HMRC is not providing its own MTD solution because commercial software providers are better positioned to be able to provide a broad range of products to meet the diverse needs of businesses and landlords.
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