FILING THE UNIVERSE'S FIRST TAX RETURN FROM SPACE

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MISSION

File a digital tax return all the way from space

FreeAgent is a powerful piece of accounting software that provides small businesses with an all-in-one solution to keep on top of their finances. Tools like this have never been more essential, especially in the UK where HMRC has recently launched its landmark Making Tax Digital initiative. Let’s face it, anything to do with income tax can be pretty baffling even at the best of times, so FreeAgent was keen to demonstrate how simple its flagship software can make the submission process. That of course posed the burning question: could an income tax return be filed all the way from space? Well, there was only one way to find out…

EXECUTION

The engineering team’s first task was to modify a tablet to operate in the -60°C temperatures experienced at 120,000 feet above the Earth’s surface. Once they’d cracked that, it was time to decide how to actually trigger the tax return while the craft is floating in space. The obvious option was for the ground team to interface with the tablet via satellite uplink and control the software remotely, but where’s the fun in that? It was back to the drawing board to think up a solution that would bring a sense of theatre to the proceedings. After multiple revisions – and countless cups of coffee – our crack team of technicians came up with a servo-operated stylus to interact with the tablet's capacitive touchscreen … cool, eh?

Come launch day, the ground team readied the craft and watched as it slowly ascended through the clouds on its way into the stratosphere. A deft combination of enhanced Starlink technologies and other bespoke communications systems allowed seamless two-way data transfer throughout the flight and, at a jaw-dropping altitude of 26km, the stylus successfully tapped the screen to submit the world’s first tax return from space – truly history in the making. HMRC famously likes to say that tax doesn’t have to be taxing … well, it certainly isn’t when FreeAgent is involved.

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