Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse of the closure of the online filing service to support small businesses with simple tax affairs.

I understand the impact the closure of this service for filing company accounts and tax returns may have on small, unrepresented businesses.

The service is closing because Companies House is modernising its accounts filing requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, passed by the previous government. The current service does not meet these new standards.

The Act forms part of wider reforms designed to strengthen corporate transparency and give Companies House greater powers to tackle economic crime and support economic growth.

The closure of the service, which is outdated and incompatible with modern requirements, will also allow HMRC to introduce measures to prevent abuse of the tax system and help close the small business tax gap, which was estimated to be £14.7 billion in the 2023/24 tax year.