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As the self-employed among you will know, today is the deadline for submitting your tax returns. Adam Hart-Davis has been on TV more and more recently, reminding us all of this fact from his perch atop an egg timer. The process can be quite tricky, and often involves a mountain of paperwork.
Nine million people in the UK are required to submit a return, and although a third of those will be using the HM Revenue and Customs' fancy online system, six million people still opt to use the traditional paper version.
This means that 216 million pages still get posted every year, including the forms themselves and the accompanying instruction booklets, according to the tax return specialists Legatio. This paper adds up to the equivalent of 25,000 trees -- enough to fill New York's Central Park.
"These figures show how filing your tax returns online is not only a good way of saving time and money, but can also help to protect the environment," says Legatio co-founder Grant Johnston.
Swapping the paper version for the online version couldn't be simpler -- Legatio makes software that will walk you through filling in the online form. Or you could have a go at it yourself or ask your accountant to return your form online.
A quarter of a million people will be submitting their applications today, right at the last minute, putting quite a strain on the HMRC's servers. One million people won't make the deadline at all -- and missing deadlines is costly when tax is concerned. Automatic late fees of £100 per person could add up to a £100 million windfall for the tax man.
31 January 2008 01:12pm
Funnily enough (or not, if you haven't filed yet) the BBC is reporting the self-assessment website has gone down today...
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