Independent report

Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (ABAB) 2025 annual report: Better tax for better business

Published 17 December 2025

Foreword

The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (ABAB) has once again this year been listening to and supporting small businesses and their representative bodies in their dealings with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the tax system generally. I and my fellow ABAB members are committed to making a noticeable difference for small businesses by encouraging and supporting HMRC to make their tax dealings easier, quicker, and simpler.

We do this by highlighting to HMRC the concerns small businesses have around engaging with the tax system, both technically and, more importantly, administratively. As HMRC’s independent, expert small business adviser, ABAB is uniquely placed to hold these conversations and help policy makers and politicians to understand the challenges such business face with the tax system.

We have achieved some notable successes this year in our role. In January, government listened to our concerns and input on the development of a new data policy, and in particular on a proposed employee hours data requirement. ABAB highlighted the administrative burden these requirements would bring, which led to government action to cancel the proposal.

We were personally invited by the (then) Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST), James Murray MP to support his work on Tax Simplification and on the Tax Gap. We were delighted to host the Minister at 2 roundtable meetings in February where we shared our views on these themes to help inform his and HMRC’s thinking. Afterwards, the Minister confirmed his appreciation and desire to continue this engagement.

As the year progressed, further Ministerial endorsements for ABAB were made publicly by the XST during activities recognising the 20 years of HMRC, and as part of the Tax Update: Simplification, Administration and Reform (TUSAR) announcements.

Additional evidence of our impact was shown on the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Enabling Multiple Agents (EMA) project, where ABAB feedback informed the design of a solution delivered well ahead of the April 2026 mandation date. This means that self-employed people and landlords who sign up to use MTD for Income Tax can choose to authorise more than one agent to help them with their Income Tax responsibilities.

I was pleased to meet privately in October with the new First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HMRC, John-Paul Marks CB. He was very supportive of our work and shares ABAB’s desire for collaborative working with HMRC at the earliest possible stage to problem solve and co-design solutions. He is keen to stay close to our work and I’m looking forward to building on this relationship in the coming year.

Late in the year, we welcomed (as part of November Budget announcements) the launch of the government’s Entrepreneurship Prospectus, which sets out why founders should start, scale and stay in the UK, alongside further work government will deliver to support entrepreneurs. We welcome the investment and reshape of the UK Research and Development (R&D) system involved in this initiative. We look forward to seeing how consistent issues around tax credit difficulties might be eased through R&D tax reliefs, where businesses investing in R&D can benefit from tax credits when spending on R&D.

Although it is pleasing to report progress and highlight where our steers have made a tangible difference, more is still needed. All too often, opportunities are missed to reduce and remove the unnecessary regulatory and admin burdens which can hold back small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by creating additional costs and limiting opportunities to grow.

To this end, I must also report our less positive experiences of engaging with HMRC.

HMRC’s handling of the Class 2 National Insurance error has been poor. Here, a system error led to HMRC issuing tax calculations showing incorrect Class 2 National Insurance amounts. A fix to correct this has taken many months, with incorrect calculations continuing to be issued during the whole time.

HMRC’s apparent lack of engagement with ABAB on this topic has been disappointing, as has the time taken to halt the problem and find a solution. While we understand that the issue has now been resolved for the 10-20k customers affected, there have been immediate real-life implications to this beyond paying the wrong amount of tax. These include reports of issues for some self-employed taxpayers attempting to secure mortgages.

Also, we noted with dismay the November publication of new draft guidance on mandatory reporting and paying of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance contributions (NICs) on benefits in kind via payroll software (‘Mandatory Payrolling’). This was despite ABAB initially contributing towards securing a welcome delay to the introduction of this requirement. Unfortunately, whilst interim guidance was published in April 2025, the wording stated it was expected that real time information reporting would mirror the P11D reporting requirements. However, the long-awaited software developer specification information showed the main P11D fields, but the further employer guidance does not mirror that same specification or the P11D, and instead suggests many additional reporting fields. 

Publishing new draft guidance in November without first sharing drafts with stakeholders or clearly confirming it was actually the basis of further consideration has led to confusion and concern amongst the payroll and tax professions. Although policy teams at HMRC have engaged with stakeholders at various stages, the expectations of what would be required were unfortunately not made clearer.

We hope this confusion does not ultimately damage trust or increase the risk of additional cost and burdens to business. The guidance under consultation is not acceptable. We look forward to working with HMRC to build on the significant stakeholder support afforded so far, to seek the changes needed to ensure this is practical for business.

Open and regular consultation with ABAB would have achieved better outcomes here. We are well placed to play a key role in solving these problems so that administrative burdens experienced by businesses are minimised – especially for smaller businesses who have the least resources to manage those burdens.

Despite these setbacks, ABAB’s focus remains on working together with HMRC (in our unique capacity) as a conduit between SMEs and policy makers.

Our agenda for 2026 is at the end of this report, and we would welcome your comments and input to help our work: please contact us.

Dame Teresa Graham DBE
Chair, Administrative Burdens Advisory Board

Introduction

The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (always known as ‘ABAB’) offers constructive challenge and support to HMRC by championing the views and concerns of the small business community. ABAB Membership consists of a group of small and medium business operators and tax advisers; we cover a wide range of business sectors and pride ourselves on our relevant, current knowledge and our expertise and independence. We provide a valuable tax related connection between small business and government.

Our quarterly board meetings are attended by senior HMRC personnel. Our members also regularly comment on consultations and take part in more detailed discussions, including at internal HMRC meetings and events. ABAB reports annually, as an independent body, to the XST as the Minister with day-to-day responsibility for HMRC and the tax system.

Our primary goal is to ‘make a noticeable positive difference’ for small businesses, particularly in relation to the administrative burdens imposed by the tax system. We are not a statutory body; we exist by invitation of HMRC. Our approach is to operate as an independent and unpaid ‘critical friend’ to HMRC, offering constructive challenge and support.

We remain firmly committed to the goal of a simpler and easier tax system for small businesses. Co-creation is key to this. Bringing challenges, new initiatives and proposed approaches to ABAB at the earliest possible stage so we can work together with officials on designing better solutions (instead of engaging late and attempting to improve badly designed products and services) offers a ‘win win’ situation for all involved. A simpler and easier tax system will not just save businesses administrative time and money; it will likewise save HMRC time and money as there will be fewer mistakes and difficulties to resolve.

We aim to ‘make a noticeable positive difference’ by a focus on 3 priority areas:

• reducing administrative burdens to enable easier, more efficient and effective tax systems
• being an independent, ‘critical friend to HMRC who can critique, offer guidance, advice, and direct insight into the operational reality of SME interaction with the tax system’
• close consultation with HMRC, which has overall responsibility for policy changes

This report covers our work from December 2024 to November 2025. As our structure for the report, we have used the 3 priority areas of focus that the XST set for HMRC. These are:

1. modernising and reforming HMRC
2. improving day-to-day performance
3. closing the tax gap

Priority 1: Modernising and reforming HMRC

1.1. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA)

MTD for ITSA requires businesses and landlords with qualifying income over specified thresholds to maintain digital records and to update HMRC each quarter using compatible software.

We have taken a keen interest in the MTD programme since it was announced in 2015. We see digitalisation as holding great potential to improve tax administration, subject to our fundamental belief that change must be implemented in the right way and at the right pace, and that tax is not and should never be the only driver for change.

The quality of our engagement with HMRC on the MTD programme has continued to be excellent, with candid discussions taking place throughout the year.

Testing with taxpayers moved from private beta to public beta in April 2025. Comprehensive testing of the system across different types and mixes of income and allowances will, as we have said in previous reports, be critical to ensuring a successful launch to the first mandated cohort in April 2026. The number of participating taxpayers, the variety of income types and the number of participating software vendors have all increased over recent months. We know that lessons are being learned and confidence gained as the beta progresses. We noted the additional exclusions from the first mandation cohort announced on Budget Day and see this as a pragmatic step towards ensuring an effective launch next April. We also welcome the penalty regime ‘soft landing’.

However, while the programme remains on track for the first mandated cohort in April 2026, we still have some concerns.

One – which we have highlighted in previous annual reports – is the likely quality of in-year tax calculations. It is important that taxpayers (and HMRC) understand their degree of accuracy. In some cases, where income reported via MTD quarterly returns forms the bulk of the calculations, they may well be fairly accurate; in other cases, where taxpayers have non-MTD income sources such as interest or dividends, or are due relief for pension contributions, gift aid payments and the like, the calculations will inevitably be far less accurate. Accuracy will improve over time as more information is fed into the calculations, but in the short term it is important to manage taxpayer (and HMRC) expectations. HMRC understands our concerns and plans to issue clear ‘health warnings’ with the calculations.

We are also concerned about those who do not have a trusted professional adviser to guide them. We are pleased HMRC are rolling out incremental improvements to its software choices tool. But software is not a magic wand and there is a risk that some unrepresented taxpayers who do not take the time to understand how to use the software they choose could inadvertently make more, rather than fewer, errors in their records. We are keen to continue our conversations with HMRC on how this risk might be mitigated and to encourage taxpayers towards software that helps people get things right, and which they find usable. This - including the support and training that each software product offers - will be critical to the success of MTD.

As the MTD programme progresses, we hope that the focus will shift from the mechanics of quarterly reporting to the benefits that digitalisation can yield for taxpayers. We see clear potential in the ambition to build prompts and nudges into software to help taxpayers get their record keeping right and to avoid common mistakes at the point of transaction recording. We have given a cautious welcome to HMRC Assist, which will deliver nudges through MTD compliant software via APIs. But we want to make sure that this support system is explicit in its information and can sit constructively alongside nudges and prompts generated from within the software itself, as well as advice from agents. We also want to understand better the implications for those who chose not to follow – or do not understand – the nudges.

Responses to our annual Tell ABAB survey revealed both encouraging and concerning perceptions of MTD. Awareness of MTD for ITSA has increased since we undertook the 2024 survey. Some 73.7% of respondents to the 2025 survey supported the increased emphasis of software use for interaction with HMRC; however, a significant 40% were not in favour of software use being mandatory.

Respondents were asked, based on what they know at present, what impact MTD for ITSA would have on the cost and time related to both submitting quarterly updates and keeping digital records. For both areas, the highest proportion of respondents believed that MTD for ITSA would require significantly increased cost and time to manage (41% for costs, 36% to 39% for time), with substantially fewer indicating a reduction. This finding concerns us, as does the fact that 68.5% of respondents saw no benefits to MTD for ITSA. Of those that did foresee benefits, these were in the form of having an up-to-date picture of business finances, followed by more accurate records.

In the light of this, we would reiterate what we said in our last report regarding the proposed reduction in the mandation level to £20,000 in April 2028: we advise caution until the system has proved itself at the first 2 mandation levels.

Given the announcement that the MTD programme will not be extended to Corporation Tax as originally planned and given HMRC’s ambition to become a digital first organisation, with over 90% of interactions being digital by 2030, we believe that there is a strong case for a post implementation review of the MTD programme to identify lessons learned to inform the design of future digital programmes.

As the programme moves into its first mandation phase next April, we hope that the narrative – both from HMRC and from external stakeholders – will shift from ‘you have to do this to comply with your tax obligations’ to ‘here are clear benefits that you can gain by using software’.

1.2. Replatforming at HMRC

MTD sits on HMRC’s new Enterprise Tax Management Platform. We see it as important that HMRC use this to the advantage of taxpayers. We welcome that, under MTD for ITSA, someone adding a new self-employment business to an existing property income source will automatically be registered for National Insurance.

1.3. Tax Futures, Tax Administration 3.0 and Digital Transformation Roadmap

MTD is just one component of HMRC’s digital transformation, albeit a very important one.

During the year we had presentations from HMRC’s Tax Futures team and from the team responsible for HMRC’s recently-published Transformation Roadmap. We also had a presentation on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Forum on Tax Administration’s (FTA) vision for the digital future of tax administration: Tax Administration 3.0.

Tax Administration 1.0 was the world of paper documentation; Tax Administration 2.0 broadly represents the world of digitalised forms; but Tax Administration 3.0 looks to the possibilities generated by using data closer to real time, to embedding tax compliance into the systems that taxpayers use, prepopulation of data held by the tax authority and to harnessing Artificial Intelligence. The presentation we had on Tax Administration 3.0 was fascinating and generated much conversation around the table about the potential this vision holds for HMRC. We will continue to work with the Futures Team as they explore this topic.

The Transformation Roadmap published on 21 July set out HMRC’s vision for making HMRC a ‘digital first’ organisation, with over 90% of taxpayer interactions being digital by 2030. This vision clearly embraces the department’s 3 main priorities of improving day to day performance for individuals and businesses, closing the tax gap and driving reform and modernisation of the UK’s tax system.

The Transformation Roadmap includes a number of elements, such as a new online PAYE service for around 35 million customers, making it easier for them to check and update information through their personal tax account. It would also bring a new digital system for claiming allowable expenses and digitalisation of the IHT Service. We see – and we are pleased that the Transformation Roadmap acknowledges – a central role for the Single Customer Account in enabling some of the customer-centric developments, in order to create a more personalised service.

The focus on upstream interventions making full use of technology (for example by including prompts and nudges in MTD software and by harnessing the power of AI) makes considerable sense to us and will hopefully lead to better compliance through lighter touch close to real time interventions. We also note that HMRC will be making greater use of AI internally to streamline administration and to make processes more efficient, and that the importance of incorporating strong ethical and safety controls is central to HMRC’s thinking.

We also note HMRC’s continued interest in e-invoicing. We can see the potential benefits but there will also be challenges. We would urge HMRC to continue to work with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on this as they did with the initial consultation so that it is focused on the practical impacts for businesses and not solely on tax aspects. This will ensure that there is a clear focus on the needs of, benefits for and costs to businesses of adopting e-invoicing.

It is important to see MTD through this lens: without the foundation of digital data, the Tax Administration 3.0 vision cannot be delivered. MTD is therefore a critical step on that journey both in terms of taxpayer-generated data and also in terms of the transfer of data from HMRC’s legacy systems onto a single platform where it can be joined up in a taxpayer-centric way.

At the heart of all this is a commitment to collaboration, which we believe is an absolutely essential facilitator of change. As one of HMRC’s Directors General said at the HMRC Stakeholder Day in September, the approach needs to be one of sharing problems to be worked on collaboratively, not – as we have seen so often in the past – one of sharing a partially worked up solution. We very much welcome that change of approach and look forward to playing a very active role in making it a regular reality.

1.4. Innovation and agile working

The Transformation Road Map included a commitment to a thriving, innovative software market. We welcome the constructive and collaborative shift in the relationship with software developers, and recognition of the dependency on technology. We look forward to the forthcoming software roadmap to be published by April 2026.

The spirit of collaboration also comes through HMRC’s June release of its Tax Policy Making Principles. Again, the approach to engage with stakeholders fully and flexibly is a positive statement of intent.

Through these and other initiatives – included emphasis in the Transformation Roadmap on improving procurement – there is a strong message that HMRC wants to see collaboration, innovation and agile working.

We agree. It is in HMRC’s interests to look to all the expertise in the sector in particular from innovative smaller businesses. This must go beyond participation in working groups where those with relevant knowledge contribute ideas and time but are then excluded from the commercial opportunity that arises from them.

Instead, and done properly this can stimulate SMEs and rapidly deliver improved services to help HMRC. It also aligns with the ‘Entrepreneurship in the UK’ prospectus published by HM Treasury in November 2025 to ‘[shift] the centre of gravity back towards ambition by backing the founders and innovators who test new ideas, build new products, and create the companies that will drive the UK’s future prosperity.’ It expressly seeks to ‘push forward changes to government procurement, so innovation and innovative companies are placed at the centre of what the public sector buys”, emphasising that “entrepreneurs say what they really need most is revenue rather than investment’.

We support this and hope HMRC can take a lead. Over the next twelve months we look forward to seeing the results of early, deep and rapid engagement with SMEs who can help improve the tax system on an appropriate commercial basis, with risks managed in creative and flexible ways.

1.5. Withdrawal of Company Accounts and Tax Online (CATO)

The direct submission of company accounts to HMRC and Companies House will be withdrawn from the end of March 2026. This will also affect charities, Community Interest Companies (CICs) and Charity or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs), as well as flat and estate management companies.

We support that good use of software can lead to an integrated and streamlined process which reduces administrative burdens and improved compliance with an emphasis on digital record keeping, rather than simply e-filing.

Nonetheless, filing still matters and we are aware of concerns that some CATO user segments may not have appropriately priced software available to them. We will pay attention to the impact of this change with this in mind.

1.6. Improving the data HMRC collects from its customers

HMRC published a consultation on proposals to expand the range of data items employers would be required to report. These items extended beyond the information typically captured within payroll systems or Income Tax Self-Assessment returns and included:

• the business sector of the self-employed
• the occupations of employees and the self-employed
• the location of an employment or business
• the hours employees’ work
• dividends paid to shareholders in owner managed businesses
• the start and end dates of self-employment

ABAB engaged promptly with HMRC to highlight the challenges and administrative burdens these proposals would impose on businesses. One of the reasons suggested for requesting this information was to improve statistical information, particularly in response to requests from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, as ONS sought to collect data from only around 1% of businesses, HMRC was challenged as the proposed measures would not have materially assisted HMRC in ensuring that taxpayers paid the correct amount of tax at the right time.

Through engagement with ABAB, HMRC gained important insights into the limitations of payroll systems:

• payroll systems record hours paid, not hours worked – for employees on monthly salaries, reporting hours would be unnecessary unless prorated
• occupation data is generally held within HR systems, not payroll systems, and therefore would not be readily available to employers through existing reporting channels

This dialogue demonstrated the value of stakeholder engagement. While certain data items remained necessary for the self-employed, HMRC significantly reduced the potential administrative burden on businesses by reconsidering its approach.

In early 2025, Treasury Ministers announced that draft legislation requiring additional payroll data items would not be progressed further. This decision reflected a balanced approach: supporting the government’s commitment to data transformation while recognising the importance of minimising burdens on employers.

ABAB will remain vigilant as the government continues to pursue its wider data transformation agenda. It is hoped that HMRC will continue to engage constructively with stakeholders, ensuring that future initiatives both support national objectives and respect the operational realities faced by businesses.

Priority 2: Improving day-to-day performance

2.1. Tell ABAB Survey 2025

For HMRC to continuously improve, listening to and understanding the small business experiences of engaging with the tax system is vital. One of the ways we gather insight on real-life experiences is through our annual Tell ABAB Survey of small businesses and the agents who represent them.

This year’s survey ran from 17 July to 31 July and received 3,146 responses, with 77% directly from businesses and 23% from agents.

Key findings reveal the following:

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA)

There are increasing levels of awareness on MTD for ITSA, but the mandatory nature of this programme isn’t popular. It is also felt that new quarterly updates will require significantly increased time and costs to manage. In terms of the benefits business expected from MTD for ITSA, the majority of businesses don’t expect any benefits.

Importing and exporting

Survey evidence on the administration associated with importing and exporting suggests that Brexit-related changes are now bedding down and increasingly seen as ‘business as usual.’ However, although settling, the current requirements are still described as a greater burden than the pre-Brexit position.

HMRC Communications

We invited views on HMRC Communications and Engagement (including telephony or webchat or app). These were described as ‘poor’ and their general usefulness has declined, with helpline service response times also described as ‘poor.’ This is a trend continuing from previous years. We also looked for opinions on HMRC written communications, where we found that letters not being in plain English continues to be a common complaint, as are concerns around the tone of letters, which are often felt to be too harsh or threatening.

HMRC Guidance

HMRC Guidance, across all channels, was felt to be generally helpful, although sometimes difficult to access. GenAI is increasingly being used to seek answers to tax queries, although users are relying on it without cross checking its accuracy with other sources.

Awareness of customer support programmes like Payment on Account and Time to Pay is low.

Legislative burden

As in previous years, the legislative burden associated with tax compliance is a big problem. Results show another year-on-year increase, with 57% believing it had worsened – an increase of 7.7% from last year. This burden directly impacts on small business productivity and wider economic growth, a situation which must change.

Next steps

We have already started using the findings from our survey to seek to influence the direction of HMRC’s work. For example, HMRC Customer Content Team in Customer Experience Directorate have been quick and comprehensive in their early engagement with us. We’re working together at pace to on a collaborative project to gather examples of poor-quality HMRC letters, building on their team’s existing work to improve customer communications.

We will continue to support other HMRC teams and use our insights from the research to inform our priorities for the coming year.

2.2. ICAEW and CIOT report

ABAB welcomed representatives from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) to discuss the findings from their joint study on HMRC service levels.

We are pleased that HMRC has responded constructively to this work, and look forward to further updates.

2.3. Class 2 National Insurance changes resulting in incorrect tax calculations for sole traders

Class 2 National Insurance applies to those who are self-employed. Contributions have historically been a small fixed amount calculated weekly and paid through self assessment. Payments are linked to an entitlement to contributory state benefits such as the state pension.

From the 2024 to 2025 tax year, the requirement to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions was removed for most people.

However, after filing their return some taxpayers found that HMRC had erroneously added Class 2 contributions to their tax due, both in letters and in their personal tax account. In many cases this amended a previously correct calculation.

The structures that HMRC has to report systemic issues like this worked well: the problem was raised with HMRC in May, just a few weeks into the new filing season. However, fixing the problem seems to have been a challenge, with incorrect calculations being issued over many months and very limited proactive communication to provide reassurance.

Knock-on effects have included people being rejected for mortgages because the tax calculation issued by their software did not match HMRC figures.

HMRC indicated in November that between 10,000 and 20,000 taxpayers were impacted, representing up to 1% of those who would have filed by that time with some trading income. While we are pleased that initial fears that this could affect all self-employed taxpayers were not realised, the errors have been a burden on taxpayers, their agents and software developers.

When system errors do occur – and we fully accept that they will, given the complexity of the tax system – we want to see HMRC respond in ways that minimise the admin burden for those affected. We’d also hope digital systems could indicate a known issue in the personal tax accounts of those affected, with a suitable explanation and timescale for resolution. This episode could serve as a case study for future incident management.

Priority 3: Closing the tax gap

3.1. Analysis

We have welcomed analysis from the HMRC Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence (KAI) directorate on areas where taxpayers are making mistakes.

If HMRC can be specific about common errors we hope that software will incorporate flows to try to help taxpayers avoid them, whether directly or through agent tools.

Simplification also has a clear role in compliance – people need to understand their obligations to be able to meet them. Ideally simplification should be introduced with an understanding of the tools that are available to a taxpayer – such as software and bank data feeds – and a recognition that there is often a balance between accuracy and simplification.

Noting increased software tools, we also encourage HMRC to carry out hands-on collaborative prototyping of compliance measures to make sure they have the desired effect before deploying them widely, including where AI is being adopted.

3.2. Role of guidance

We are pleased that HMRC are working on improving communications and guidance and see that AI has a role to play here (with due caveats): HMRC content is already being used by third parties for their own AI products.

A repeated ABAB message has been that an effective way to reduce non-compliance associated with a process is to remove the need for that process altogether (and its equivalent – to reduce the effort of reconciliation, only have the value in one place). We encourage HMRC to find further opportunities to embrace these themes in the spirit of simplification, reducing admin and improving compliance.

What’s planned for 2026

We look forward to meeting with the new XST, Daniel Tomlinson, MP and building on the strong relationships and productive dialogue we have enjoyed with many of his predecessors in the vital ‘Tax Minister’ role.

Within the priority areas set by the XST, ABAB will continue to focus its work to address key administrative issues impacting small businesses.

We expect to welcome the First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HMRC, John-Paul Marks CB to an ABAB Board Meeting. We look forward to continued engagement with HMRC more broadly via our scheduled plan of regular meetings throughout the year, and tailored activities as need arises.

Conclusions

It is important to highlight issues that require attention. ABAB is, after all, a critical friend to HMRC. Although some benefits have been realised from ABAB engagement this year, there is plenty more that can be achieved with better working together.

Two key areas that we would highlight – both longstanding – are:

• failure to consistently work with ABAB from the earliest possible stage of a project
• frequently sharing HMRCs proposed solution to a problem, rather than the actual problem statement at an early stage

Improvements here could enable HMRC to deliver projects more quickly, at lower cost and with higher quality. That’s because ABAB can feed in so much small business insight and experience during the development process, rather than changes being necessitated later in the light of experience post-launch.

ABAB strongly support Post-Implementation Reviews (PIRs) for any and all significant changes to the tax system. As various OTS projects showed, the lack of PIRs - which any commercial organisation would do automatically to identify lessons learned - has always been a failing of the way the UK tax system is developed and run. We therefore call for PIRs to be a normal part of changes to the tax system.

There is a great opportunity here for HMRC. Our experience of engagement with our HMRC colleagues is generally positive and proactive. We are all, after all, working towards a shared goal: helping to deliver the tax system we all want – the better tax system that better businesses deserve.