Under present legislation, if you build up 12 or more penalty points for driving offences you will be disqualified from driving. The ban can last from 4 to possibly 11 years depending on the gravity of the offence.
It is interesting to note that HMRC have now disclosed, in the draft clauses to the forthcoming Finance Bill, that they will be operating a points system when considering penalties chargeable for late submission of information under their Making Tax Digital obligations.
Of course, they are not suggesting that if you collect enough points you will be banned from paying tax – chance would be a fine thing – but the liability to penalties will remain until a predetermined period of time passes.
The clauses that explain how the new system will work are far from simple. In fact, if you are prone to migraines, reading the copy should be avoided. The message seems clear enough. For Making Tax Digital to work it is essential that HMRC receive the data to calculate liability in accordance with the filing deadlines determined; otherwise, the whole process will fail in its attempt to provide estimates of tax due in real time.
It also suggests that HMRC may be laying the ground for Pay As You Go, their “voluntary” system for settling self-assessment liability on a quarterly basis. At present, we pay our self-assessment dues January and July each year, and in arrears. More on this in next week’s blog post.
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