More online is not the answer to all tax problems

Information technology is supposed to make things faster, but bizarrely this week, we saw that the exchequer returns for January were understated because of delays in bringing payments to account.

Information technology is supposed to make things faster, but bizarrely this week, we saw that the exchequer returns for January were understated because of delays in bringing payments to account.

Admittedly, this was apparently a once-off occurrence, because of the introduction of the Single European Payments Area arrangements. Nevertheless, it highlighted the importance and the risks to the tax system of electronic transactions.

The Revenue has insisted on online filing and payment for ...