The comments came during a hearing before the Treasury Committee where MPs questioned Victoria Atkins, financial secretary to the Treasury, about the decision to delay the rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD).

The initial plan was to require all sole traders and landlords to report earnings above £10,000 via MTD on a quarterly basis from April 2024 but the delay saw the threshold raised to £50,000 with an effective date of 2026.

‘We want to deliver this well, and that is why we are taking a staged approach and also why I am looking very carefully at those people that earn up to £30,000,’ Atkins said.

‘I have listened not just to the concerns of agents, accountants and other professionals but to colleagues as hopefully we are the first point of call I hope when a constituent has problems.