With only five working days until the six-part consultation on HMRC’s Making Tax Digital transformation programme closes for comment, the HMRC forum has been set up for taxpayers to provide instant feedback on their views of the proposals.

There has been no promotion or publicity about the new service, which was released in a brief announcement on gov.uk. The website is run and moderated by HMRC staff, and allows taxpayers and tax advisers to comments.

The site went live on 28 October, although it had been developed in early September but was not launched at the time.  

Described as the ‘current challenge’ on the HMRC website, the highlighted topic is Making Tax Digital: use of third party information.

The HMRC Making Tax Digital consultation response portal is available here. The site will be moderated between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

As yet, HMRC has not released the final consultation document covering quarterly reporting for incorporated businesses, which is expected to be published in the form of a 'policy document' before the end of the year. It is not clear why this will not be issued as a standard consultation as with the first six documents.

A series of HMRC webinars on the Making Tax Digital proposals have run over the last few months since the consultation was announced in mid-August. These have provided a vital service to tax advisers, agents and accountants, and have been attended by up to 650 professionals on a single one-hour sitting.

It is clear from feedback and questions at the sessions that advisers are far more aware of the impact of the changes, while small business owners and company finance teams are still unclear about how the changes will impact their businesses.

Essential reading

Read our full Making Tax Digital analysis, comment and insight here, including consultation highlights and lowlights, rollout timetable and reaction