Parliament to debate digital tax reform today

MPs will today debate the introduction of quarterly digital tax submissions for small businesses and the self-employed.

The debate follows a petition calling on the Government to scrap the plans, which has had close to 110,000 signatures.

The change, buried in the detail of the Government’s Autumn Statement, is part of HMRC’s transformation to a digital tax service. By 2020, all business taxpayers will provide their tax information to HMRC via their digital tax account.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation’s Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) said the planned changes betray a “worrying ignorance” of how most businesses operate.

It also warned it is “inevitable” that compulsory quarterly reporting will lead to compulsory quarterly tax payments.

Bill Esterson, MP for Sefton Central and Shadow Minister for Small Business, told TheBusinessDesk.com that businesses he had spoken to are “very worried” and feel this is a way of making smaller businesses pay more tax.

He added: “Most smaller businesses pay their tax on time yet have to watch while a small number of much larger businesses avoid tax altogether. The Government would do better to take action to reduce tax avoidance by a handful of high profile culprits rather than penalising the overwhelming majority of smaller businesses who do the right thing.”

A spokesperson for Anna Soubry, Small Business Minister, said: “Anna is aware of the issue and is working to make sure that when the change does come in in 2020 things are done to make sure it works for small business.”

The debate, led by Oliver Dowden MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, starts at 4.30pm today in Westminster Hall. Watch it live here: http://parliamentlive.tv/Commons

COMMENT BELOW: What do you think of the Government’s response to this petition? What points would you like MPs to raise in the debate?