Senior executives from HMRC and the Treasury will give evidence on the balance of power between HMRC and the taxpayer and progress on the rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT to a House of Lords select committee this afternoon
Ruth Stanier, HMRC director general for customer strategy and tax design, Theresa Middleton, HMRC director for MTD for business, and Lindsey Whyte, director for personal tax, welfare and pensions at the Treasury, will answer a range of questions.
Likely topics include whether there has been a culture shift in HMRC enforcement activity and whether access to justice for taxpayers engaged in tax disputes is sufficient.
Members of the committee will also be asking about the rationale behind clauses in the draft Finance Bill which would extend HMRC’s time limit for dealing with offshore matters to 12 years.
They are additionally seeking an update on whether HMRC and software companies are ready for the full introduction of MTD for VAT in April 2019, why some organisations being allowed a deferral to the introduction of the new regime, and whether businesses are aware of their obligations and the requirements of the process.
The session, at 4pm on 22 October, forms part of the economic affairs finance bill sub-committee’s ongoing inquiry into the draft Finance Bill 2018.
The evidence session will be live on Parliament TV here
Report by Pat Sweet
