Around 24 million people are to receive a personal tax statement from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), setting out how much tax they paid in 2013-14 and how it contributed to public expenditure.
The new initiative will take effect from October this year, as part of the government’s drive to make the UK tax system simpler, easier to understand and more transparent.
Chancellor George Osborne Chancellor said on 3 April: “These tax statements represent a huge boost for tax transparency, showing people very clearly how much tax they pay and giving them a better understanding of where their money is spent.”
The statements will go to eight million taxpayers who complete self-assessment returns online – who will receive their tax statement online – and the 16 million PAYE taxpayers who received a tax coding notice from HMRC for 2013 to 2014.
They will contain details of how their income tax and national insurance contributions for 2013-14 have been calculated, their average tax rates and how this contributed to public expenditure.
There are 29.9 million income taxpayers in the UK and the government said that taxpayers who did not receive a tax statement can use HMRC’s tax calculator to estimate their tax bill and see how it contributes to public spending.
This app can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple app store or Google Play by searching HMRC tax calculator.
The move was originally announced in the 2012 Budget.
