Are SMEs ready for Making Tax Digital for VAT?
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I am so sorry but this article is misleading . You infer that their is still time to get digital records sorted. This of wrong as digital records need to be kept from day one otherwise you would have to put a full quarters records on a computer in a few days before the filing date . This is not what MTD is about . Also the records for VAT are different for those for other Taxes and so MTD in the present form isn’t doing what Government say MTD is about . The only records required for VAT are gross vat net on certain expenses and so how are the other expenses to be included and how do sales, purchases and bank reconciliations get done . All most people are doing is panicking to comply with a Law that’s been messed around with in a half baked way so that Government do not look idiots . I challenge HMRC to reply to this post and prove me wrong .
"AAT, working with YouGov, has conducted a survey of over 1,000 decision makers working for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to see how they feel about MTD ahead of the launch."
And, of course, they surveyors took full account of the core metrics of a fully segmented analysis of the UK SME Business Population; and therefore asked a variety of plumbers, tarmac layers, etc.
Whose answers would have probably been something like:
"P off can't you see I'm busy, John?"
"Do what?"
You need to ask 1,000 micro businesses instead and read the many threads on here. There is no perceived benefit for many of these, many do not have accountants and will have to change the way they do things and incur costs.
Digital record keeping is common in other juriusdictions. Some have for years already using it so I do not understand the furore. maybe because HMRC cocked up implementation?
It has its benefits but if its sole objective is to raise more through penalties then it will be a lost cause. Unfortunately HMRC appears more interested in penalties for the SME/Micro (they do not chase the big firms, instead do sweetheart deals) than anything else.
I have been using a 14lbs hammer to get larger clients to understand and implement MTD but their answer is "its an accountants problem."