ICAEW calls for rethink of quarterly reports under MTD for CT

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is calling for companies to rethink requiring companies to report quarterly as part of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for corporation tax (CT) purposes.

The trade body believes quarterly reports offer little benefit to the HMRC and will impose a significant burden on businesses.

Furthemore, the ICAEW suggests that depending on business’ size, complexity and processes, making quarterly reports that are an accurate reflection of the business’s tax results could take significantly longer than the month currently proposed by the government.

In its response to the HMRC’s consultation on expanding the MTD regime to CT, ICAEW’s tax faculty said: “These reports will tell HMRC very little about the true accounting or tax results of the company for the quarter concerned.

“The additional burden placed on companies in providing quarterly reports is not justified and should not be introduced until digital record keeping has become established and the software available is shown to work efficiently for companies and HMRC.”