ATT and CIOT principles of tax digitalisation

The United Kingdom is on a journey towards modernising its tax system through digitalisation. Principally, this is taking place through the Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative first announced in 2015, but in practice it can be traced back much further to the introduction of online filing of self-assessment and VAT returns, through to more recent digital systems such as the trust registration service, the CGT property reporting service and online disclosure facilities.

Digitalisation of the tax system should benefit both governments and taxpayers alike, leveraging digital technologies to streamline tax processes, enhance accuracy, and enable real-time data exchange between taxpayers and tax authorities.

The ATT and CIOT have developed a set of principles which should act as the benchmark against which tax digitalisation must be measured. Compliance with these principles will ensure that the benefits of digitalisation will be realised, whereas failure to adhere to them could result in increased costs, poor implementation, unachieved policy goals, and a loss of trust in the tax system.

The principles can be found here.