But the transition is fraught with problems, as complex transactions are shoehorned into online environments, leaving tax advisers and unwitting taxpayers faced with a non-compliant, rigid system which does not entertain dialogue. 

Unsurprisingly, this was a hot topic for discussion at last month’s HMRC stakeholder conference, where one disgruntled tax adviser, complained of weeks spent trying to complete an online employment related securities form for a client.

Others cited the travails of the replacement gov.uk website, where documents are updated without clear annotation so only the useful tip to keep paper or PDF copies of all HTML pages allows for comparison.