LONG TERM,THE tax gap will widen unless there is greater trust than presently exists between tax collector and taxpayer', said Loughlin Hickey, global managing partner for tax, KPMG in his Hardman memorial lecture for the Tax Faculty of the ICAEW on 17 November 2005.
IT HAD TO come. After seemingly years of shilly-shallying, HMRC has decided to pull the plug on the electronic lodgement service on 31 March 2006. So from 1 April 2006, agents will no longer be able to submit any returns using ELS or receive self assessment statements through ELS, rather if they wish to file electronically, they will have to file by Internet (FBI).
HMRC'S 2005 SPRING departmental report was published recently, showing progress against targets in 2004-05 and expenditure plans. The report covers the former Inland Revenue and Customs, as well as the Valuation Office Agency.