In this episode of our Learn Better Podcast, we explore the topic of ‘Making Tax Digital.’
Our guest is the director of Making Tax Digital for HMRC, Craig Ogilvie. His experience and passion for this initiative puts Craig in a perfect position to explain what Making Tax Digital is, and why it’s so important.
Key topics discussed
Why are we Making Tax Digital?
Craig talks about how we are moving into a more digital age. He highlights that making tax digital helps HMRC become even more trusted and modern. In the conversation, Craig discusses the additional benefits of making tax digital, such as bridging the tax gap in the UK, and by submitting quarterly income and expenditure updates, the process will become easier and more accurate.
“There's a strong fiscal reason for doing it, but why I'm passionate is it's so much bigger than just additional tax. It helps HMRC build a modern tax infrastructure for self-assessment.”
The scale and impact of the initiative
Stuart asks Craig about the scale of the project. Craig notes that there will be around 12 million customers once making tax digital is phased in. They follow this with a discussion regarding the reality of the initiative - which will involve migrating 12 million records onto a new system, building the new system, and managing the debt processes.
“I'd like to think 10 years ahead of where we are now, and say the end game is a modern, more resilient tax system.”
Data migration
Stuart questions how strong the system's infrastructure is and asks how the migration process will be. Craig believes that applying a learning mindset is the key to success, as well as having robust plans and contingencies in place. He goes on to say that there will be challenges, but as a company, HMRC is trying to be more transparent and speak more honestly about the challenge.
“Expertise, a really good plan, and contingencies are really important.”
The future of Making Tax Digital
The conversation moves onto the expected end of the project as Craig mentions that the project isn't just about making tax digital, it's also about the new self-assessment platform. Therefore, work on that continues into 2030 as HMRC completes replatforming.
Career opportunities
When asked for his thoughts on working at HMRC, Craig goes on to discuss how the company provides great careers for both accountants and finance professionals, with such a wide range of interests and opportunities available. He also mentions the range of careers available outside of finance roles, such as operations, digital, and data.
“There are loads of opportunities, and particularly if you are thinking of accounts, that creates some really interesting work.”
Craig closes the conversation with some final thoughts about the wider business. He mentions other great initiatives such as developments in child benefit tax claims, improving access for people to get their national insurance number, and enabling people to see their tax code quicker than ever before.
Catch up with previous episodes
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