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28th Mar 2024
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HMRC plans to make tax simpler for small firms

by The Editor at 09:10 30/11/06 (News)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched plans which they claim will help small businesses settle their tax affairs more quickly and simply.
The HMRC's publication, 'Delivering a new relationship with business', details a package of reforms designed to transform its relationship with business, including measures to allow businesses to settle their tax affairs sooner, to reduce the burden of forms and inspections and to develop a single customer record.

By 2010-11, HMRC say they will have implemented a clear delivery plan that:

  • aligns the enquiry window with the submission of the tax return, enabling businesses to settle their tax affairs sooner;

  • significantly reduces the administrative burden in dealing with tax obligations;

  • develops a single customer record, a vital step towards having a single business customer account that shows all of a company's dealings with HMRC in one place; and

  • streamlines the HMRC online filing system and improves further the services that it provides for agents and tax advisers.

Launching the report at the CBI Conference 2006, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, John Healey MP, said: "Small and medium sized businesses are vital to the success of our economy and this announcement shows the commitment of HM Revenue and Customs to provide them with a system that is efficient and tailored to meet their needs. The clear and ambitious four-year plan promises to deliver a real change from which small businesses should feel real benefits."

Initiatives
The report also details a series of initiatives HMRC has implemented over the past 18 months to help small businesses, including:

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  • a shortened four-page tax return for the smallest businesses;
  • removing from 300,000 employers the responsibility for paying tax credits to their employees;
  • reducing the number of forms to fill in - the withdrawal of Form 42 alone saving employers £200 a time; and
  • better tax code information ensuring that a million more employees a registered under the correct tax code from the outset.

Paul Gray, acting Chairman of HMRC, said: "We have made real progress in reducing the burdens on SMEs but I recognise we still have a lot to do to deliver the sort of step-change in customer experience that businesses are looking for. Today's paper details what we aim to achieve over the next four years to make the new relationship with business a reality."
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Susie Hughes
The Editor © Hardhatter 2006

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