HMRC disposes of pre-paid tax envelopes

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has abolished pre-paid tax envelopes in what is being seen as move to encourage taxpayers to file online.

Pre-paid tax envelopes are normally provided by the department, but it has now been decided they are not necessary, with more people choosing to pay their taxes online.

Some have expressed concerns over the decision after HMRC recently misplaced two discs containing the personal details of 25 million child benefit recipients.

Tax partner for UHY Hacker Young, Roy Maugham, told Accountancy Magazine: "There are still quite a few personal and business taxpayers who either don't have access to broadband or who are still very nervous about lodging sensitive financial information online."

After the government department's recent data loss fiasco, Mr Maugham also questioned the security of HMRC's information filing systems.

HMRC justified the move by stating that many other public and private institutions had also ceased issuing pre-paid tax envelopes.