Record number file tax returns online
Robust e-tax system holds up under self assessment rush
HM Revenue and Customs has reported that almost two million people lodged
their self assessment returns via www.hmrc.gov.uk, the government’s e-tax
portal.
And after years of IT problems, HMRC reported that the system coped with the
last-minute rush to meet the deadline of 31 January.
Days leading up to the deadline, the website received tax returns at a rate
of 8,700 per hour without collapsing – last year such a surge saw the website
unable to cope, The Guardian reported.
Online tax filing was launched in April 2000 with just 80,000 forms filed
electronically by 2002. The UK is still however behind other first world
countries. In Canada, more than 50% of the population file their returns online,
while the numbers are even higher in Denmark and Sweden