Budget 2000: More discounts for electronic filing
The government has extended its incentive scheme for filing tax and VAT returns electronically.
The Inland Revenue is to introduce a £50 discount for small and medium sized businesses which submit returns for workers eligible for the Working Families Tax Credit.
However it is not yet clear when the discount will be introduced as the government and representatives are set for a series of meetings to define what constitutes an SME.
What is clear is that the £50 discount will be made as a one-off payment to employers which also pay outstanding tax owed electronically.
Announcing the move, Gordon Brown reiterated the government’s aim to make the UK the best environment in the world for e-commerce.
A Revenue official said the discount was being given to SMEs as an incentive in recognition of the extra burden being placed on them.
But Martyn Ingles, a tax partner for Horwath Clark Whitehill said: ‘We want to see the discounts extended to returns which are filed by practitioners.’
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