National Audit Office publishes progress report on making tax digital

The National Audit Office (NAO) published its report entitled ‘Progress with Making Tax Digital’ on 12 June, which assesses HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) implementation of its flagship tax transformation project. The NAO’s report finds that the programme is now expected to cost approximately £1bn more than originally budgeted for in 2016, as a result of repeated delays and omitted costs to customers. The report also claims that HMRC’s original aim to implement the plans to digitalise the system for VAT, self-assessment and corporation tax by 2020 was unrealistic, having failed to adequately assess the scale of work from the outset.