For UK users: Will gnucash get ready for Making Tax Digital ?

[David Goodenough]

On Tuesday, 25 July 2017 17:39:29 BST Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd) wrote:
> On 25 July 2017 at 15:21, John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> > > https://hmrcdigital.blog.gov.uk/2016/07/14/talking-openly-at
> > 
> > -open-source-16/
> > 
> > That talk is about how much HMRC enjoys using software that they don’t
> > have to pay for and how they’ve published some of their web code on
> > GitHub.
> > It doesn’t say anything about them accepting FOSS programs into MTD.
> > 
> > > On Jul 25, 2017, at 1:43 AM, Mike Evans <mikee at saxicola.co.uk> wrote:
> > > For those interested in developing.
> > > 
> > > https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/api-documentation <
> > 
> > https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/api-documentation>
> > 
> > 
> > Which has no information on MTD. All of the APIs documented there are for
> > getting information *from* HMRC, not sending them information.
> > 
> > It *does* have information about their authentication system, which uses
> > the fairly standard “server key” or OAuth key. These keys are per-program
> > and completely preclude open-source software because there is no way for
> > an
> > open-source project to distribute them without compromising them.
> > 
> > There’s another problem with “approving” an open-source program: What are
> > you approving and how does an instance prove that it is the approved code,
> > nothing more and nothing less?
> > 
> > Regards,
> > John Ralls
> 
> OK, a better link - a guide for software developers
> 
> https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-guide-for-> software-developers
> 
> Reading one of the links
> 
> https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
> attachment_data/file/382943/sd-inductionpack.pdf
> 
> it appears that HMRC  provide technical support, and both online and
> offline validation servers.
> 
> It would not go GnuCash any harm to be listed as supported software on a
> government website of the worlds 5th or 6th largest economy. That would
> give the "commercial" software companies something they would not expect.
> 
> If you wanted John, I would not mind phoning and asking whether support
> would be provided to open-source software, and if there are any fees for
> submitting software for validation. But as one of the lead developers, if
> you feel it is not something that would or could be developed, it would be
> pointless me wasting my time.
> 
> Dave
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There is a problem.  They want to assign a secret ID to each piece of software
and so if you say it is open source they then refuse to allocate an ID as it
will not be secret.  I have raised this with the cabinet office digital dept,
and they acknowledge that this effectively bans open source which is against
official government policy.  They are trying to get this changed.

David