5 February 2007

A record number of Britons are going online to complete their tax returns, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed.

Some 150,000 returns were made in the 24 hours before the deadline - with the body's website handling 6,000 each hour - equating to over 100 every minute.

However, the full proportion of the online service's use will not emerge for several weeks, as many paper returns are yet to be processed.

Paul Gray, Acting Chairman of HMRC, comments that these figures represented the public's confidence in the Internet as a "secure, quick and convenient" method of handling returns.

"This huge growth in online filing shows that our customers are welcoming the accessibility and reliability of our online services ... the capacity and robustness of our IT systems has paid off."

The next deadline for online tax returns is February 28th 2007.

© Adfero Ltd

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