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A major tax shake-up will see 300,000 Vinted sellers, taxi drivers and dog walkers no longer required to file tax returns under Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to grow the economy.
Side hustlers, including those creating content online and gardening on the side, will be boosted as the government hikes the Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) reporting threshold for trading income.
The increase, from £1,000 to £3,000, will mean around 300,000 people will no longer have to fill in time-consuming tax returns.
Around 90,000 of these will owe no tax, meaning there is no reason for them to report their income, the government said. The rest will be able to pay any tax through a new “simple online service”, officials added.
While the changes for those with side hustles – which exploded in popularity during the pandemic – will spare people from filling in the self-assessment form, it will not change the overall amount of any tax owed.
Tax minister James Murray will announce the changes at a speech marking the 20th anniversary of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK’s tax authority. He will also set out plans to ease import restrictions on fine art and antiques to be shown in the UK under a government scheme for temporary admission of valuable objects.
Ahead of the speech, Mr Murray said: “From trading old games to creating content on social media, we are changing the way HMRC works to make it easier for Brits to make the very most of their entrepreneurial spirit.
“Taking hundreds of thousands of people out of filing tax returns means less time filling out forms and more time for them to grow their side hustle.
“We are going further and faster to overhaul the way HMRC works to make sure it delivers the Plan for Change that will help put more money in people’s pockets.”
He will also vow to boost HMRC’s customer service, a frequent complaint of those trying to contact the taxman.
During the pandemic, nearly a fifth of people said they had taken up a side hustle, including selling handcrafted products online or art and photography. Other popular side gigs included couriering and even people trying to become social media influencers or popular online content streamers.
Meanwhile an increasing backlash against fast fashion and a desire to shop sustainably has fuelled a boom in the resale market, with websites including eBay, Vinted and seeing huge growth.
Source: independent.co.uk
