The UK’s Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has expressed
concerns that the Inland Revenue’s on-line tax service will fail
unless significant security and reliability issues are resolved.
The committee’s report, E-Revenue, also claims that the department
is unlikely to achieve its target of offering 50% of its services
on-line by 2005.
According to the report, recent security breaches and technical
problems have affected public confidence in the on-line service,
which currently has fewer than 80,000 users – less than 1% of those
who are taxable.
The committee argues that the Revenue’s £200 million electronic
strategy is poor and suggested that it should pilot and test new
systems on a more systematic basis. It is also calling for better
incentives for taxpayers to submit their tax returns
electronically.
In May, the Revenue was forced to suspend its on-line self
assessment tax service following complaints by users who could
access confidential internet files and view other people’s tax
reviews. It only recently went back on-line.
