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New app calculates your tax and how it is spent

New app calculates your tax and how it is spent

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 28 May 2012

The Government is today launching a new tax calculator enabling people to work out how much tax they pay and how the Government spends it. The tax calculator can be downloaded as a free mobile phone app and is also available on the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website.

The launch comes as new research reveals that over half of taxpayers (57%) do not know how much income tax and National Insurance they pay in a year, suggesting that many people find the personal tax system remote and confusing. The new calculator uses online technology, makes it easy for taxpayers to see how much they can expect to pay and is an important step towards achieving the Government’s vision of making the system more transparent, open, and easier to understand.

The research published today was carried out as part of the Government’s consultation on ways in which people could more easily access information on their personal taxes. It found that although 70% of those who receive bank statements said that they always check their transactions, just 26% of taxpayers are as thorough in checking how much tax they have paid, and only 10% would be able to put an exact figure on it, if asked.

David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“We think it is right that people know how much tax they pay and what the Government spends it on. At the moment, over half of taxpayers do not know how much income tax and National Insurance they pay in a year. Our new tax calculator will allow them to find out, which is a big step towards a more transparent, 21st century system.”

The calculator can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs-tools/index.shtml

The mobile phone app can be downloaded at the Apple Store or Google Play.

Notes for Editors

1. The research results are from a TNS omnibus survey commissioned by HMRC of 2,109 adults aged 16 and over across the UK. The survey was conducted between 15 and 19 February 2012. It is published today and can be found at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/report177.pdf.

2. In November 2011, the Government launched a vision for a more transparent, open, and easier to understand tax system and a consultation, Modernising the administration of the personal tax system, looking at ways to make it easier for people to access information about their taxes.

3. At the Budget in March 2012, the Government announced that from 2014/15 20m taxpayers will receive a personal tax statement showing how much tax they have paid and what it was spent on.

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