Paperless Self-Assessment Coming
Following an HMRC consultation, it has been announced that paperless self-assessment may soon be introduced. Under this system, all communications from HMRC to taxpayers will take place through electronic methods rather than through the post.
At present, only a quarter of communications that HMRC send to ten million self-assessment taxpayers in the UK can be sent electronically. The remaining three quarters are sent on paper through the post. For example, the majority of self-assessment tax returns are filed through the online facility, but the outcome of this is still sent through the post rather than by email.
David Gauke, the current Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, has welcomed this move. He was quoted as saying that “HMRC’s digital strategy will make processes like self-assessment faster and simpler. It will deliver the tax system for the 21st century that taxpayers expect.