The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published a discussion paper on the implications of using technology to simplify tax.
The report suggests the following key points for the government to consider:
- HMRC expanding the current personal tax account to deliver better targeted guidance alongside looking at automatically enrolling all taxpayers into this service
- How to mitigate the risk of taxpayers losing sight of their obligations through the use of technology
- Continuing to monitor private sector technological innovation with the potential to improve taxpayers’ experience of managing their tax affairs
- The potential for using new technology to engage with the public more efficiently and effectively while saving resources
- Monitoring the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on taxpayer choices for security and privacy, and convenience
- Active monitoring of the impact of moves towards a cashless society and risks of digital exclusion
Paul Morton, OTS tax director, said: "Technology has transformed much of our day to day lives, in some areas almost beyond recognition. Although many tax-related activities have benefited from a digital approach we are still at the early stages of the potential transformation. This paper explores some of the more difficult questions that new technology presents. It is important that some of these areas are addressed sooner rather than later and we hope our paper will encourage this."
