HM Treasury has published a paper which outlines the outcome of research aimed at generating an understanding of how to re-design PAYE/NIC processes to deliver improved taxpayer experience in a digital age.

According to the summary of key findings, the research produced six key insights crucial to facilitating individuals’ tax ownership which are as follows:

• Individual knowledge of how tax works is limited. Whilst there is basic knowledge, few fully understand how their tax is calculated, what would make it change and how it would change.
• Individuals are not engaged with their personal tax. Because tax is deducted at source, those paying PAYE typically see it as something dealt with by their employer or pension provider and, as a result, do not feel any need to engage with it. It is something that happens ‘to them’.
• PAYE taxpayers do not generally recognise their role and responsibilities in managing their tax. Even when they have faced a problem or issue with their tax, they felt it was someone else's responsibility to manage it (e.g. HMRC, employer or pension provider).
• Individuals do not feel equipped to deal with issues concerning their tax. They are confused by having responsibility for something they are not directly involved in and do not fully understand. This is heightened by unfamiliarity with the system and feeling overwhelmed when/if they do engage.
• The concept of an online tax account is appealing. Individuals would welcome the reassurance that easy access to this information would bring and see online as being the natural platform for this.
• Individuals have a clear idea of what they want from an online tax account, particularly: education about their tax and how tax works, a facility to check their details, and the opportunity to interact with HMRC digitally.