Is the UK ignoring the inevitability of digital taxation?

The direction of travel for tax compliance is clear: it is to become digital and underpinned by data. Globally and in Europe especially momentum is gathering as the pace of new e-invoicing and e-reporting mandates continue to pick up. 

That momentum is presented in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) latest report Tax Administration 2022 (tinyurl.com/OECDTA22) which charts the taxation landscape in 2020 via data compiled from 58 jurisdictions that combined account for around 90% of global GDP. 

The report highlights the continuing digital transformation among tax administrations globally in June. Their rationale for evolving is simple and compelling the overarching aim being to automate tax compliance in more areas and further reduce the administrative burdens for their taxpayers. 

The OECD’s headline figures are striking and difficult to ignore. In 2020 as the world adapted and responded to...