Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his proposals on Making Tax Digital, published in December 2015, for what reasons the threshold of an income of £10,000 was agreed; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that threshold on self-employed entertainment sector workers.

Making Tax Digital for Businesses (MTDfB) will modernise the tax system and make it easier for businesses to get their tax right. A deferral of one year for unincorporated businesses below the VAT threshold was announced at Spring Budget 2017.

The £10,000 threshold was set after considering evidence both about the size of the business population and about the composition of the tax gap.

The Government published an updated impact assessment on 8 March alongside Spring Budget 2017. This estimated the impacts averaged across the entire unincorporated business population, using established models, consultation feedback, stakeholder engagement and internal insight.