Can I trust the software companies?
Tony got in touch with the show over security concerns. His question was: “Can I trust the intermediaries that the HMRC is imposing upon me? I mean, they’re not imposing a specific intermediary, but they’re saying, here’s a range of intermediaries, companies I don’t know from Adam, and I have to choose one of those and I have to upload my data to them and then have them transfer the data to HMRC. My very personal financial data, like my taxpayer reference, my national insurance number, my income details.”
“Software is not new,” responded Jonathan Athow. “As I said, some people are already using software to comply with their tax obligations. If you are paid as an employee, there’s probably a third-party software provider in that system working for your employer to talk to us. So this is not an entirely new market. We take our security very, very seriously.”
He also told listeners: “Before we put somebody on our software pages, we do look to make certain that product meets our standards and can be relied upon. But again, security is a more general issue across digital services, not just those where they’re connected with tax.”
Can I get an exemption?
Many people emailed and messaged the programme because they felt they should be offered an exemption. One farmer said he didn’t have an adequate internet connection, several people said they were digitally excluded and couldn’t manage new software.
Ashley said: “I can’t follow what’s going on… I’ve actually just written now to see whether I’ll be exempt. I thought if I say ‘I’m 85, I’ve probably got five more years to live’ then will say ‘well, don’t bother because it won’t come in for everybody until that time’, so that’s the only hope I’ve got.”
HMRC reassured listeners that there is scope for exemptions when people are genuinely prevented from using the new system. So far they have had 3,000 applications for exemptions and have processed 1,800. Of those, around 70% were accepted, so worried taxpayers should ring the helpline or write with evidence so they can be considered.
