Is UK Personal Tax Becoming More Taxing? A Critical Stakeholder Analysis of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Personal Tax
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Making Tax Digital (MTD) represents the most significant reform to UK personal tax administration since Self-Assessment. While HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) frames MTD as modernization to improve accuracy and compliance, its implications for administrative burden remain contested. This study examines whether UK personal taxation is becoming more taxing through increased administrative, cognitive, and behavioral demands on taxpayers and intermediaries. Adopting a qualitative, conceptual, and policy-oriented design, the research draws on administrative burden theory, behavioral regulation, and public administration literature to conduct a critical stakeholder analysis of MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment. Through documentary analysis of HMRC policy, professional commentary, and international evidence, the study demonstrates that while MTD may improve data quality and long-term compliance, it is likely to increase administrative burden in the medium term. More frequent reporting, mandatory digital engagement, and reliance on commercial software shift compliance responsibilities from the state to taxpayers and intermediaries, introducing behavioral risks such as precautionary underclaiming, deadline pressure, and reporting fatigue. International evidence suggests that automation-based systems with pre-populated returns impose lower burdens than frequency-based models. The study recommends that policymakers align digital reform with simplification and stronger taxpayer support, as practitioners face higher workloads and smaller or digitally excluded taxpayers risk increased costs without effective transition. Ultimately, the study contributes to the literature by reframing MTD as a form of behavioral regulation that redistributes administrative burden.
DOI: 10.63329/av3nz12338
Authors: Emmanuel Ntim, Fatima Zahra
Institution: Buckinghamshire New University
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7225576464