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One third of UK taxpayers find self-assessment forms difficult to complete, according to a recent survey, carried out by CommunicateResearch, on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).

In response to the survey, John Cullinane, CIOT President, said that the forms and guides reflect how complex the UK tax system is - "In order to simplify the SA forms and guides one first needs to make the system simpler and clearer. Without this any move to making the forms ‘easier’ could in fact lead to people getting their tax return wrong."

HMRC publish two tax calculation guides to assist taxpayers, but both of these are also complicated.

The research found that 67% of taxpayers polled complete the form themselves and 42% said they found it ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ difficult to understand whether they are paying the right amount of tax.

Overall, 89% of people who were polled thought that the tax system should be simplified.

John Cullinane added  “The CIOT welcomes the acknowledgment in the Budget of the need for simplification.  We believe that HM Treasury and HMRC understand this and we wish to continue working with them to achieve this.”
 
Interestingly, just under half a million taxpayers (7%) failed to submit their self-assessment tax form on time.  If every offender was issued the standard £100 fine for late submission, it would add up to just under £50 million.

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Chartered Institute of Taxation