The Ultimate in Brass Neck

Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs is planning to cast its eagle eye on small businesses tax payments and record keeping later this year. It will be looking for what it calls 'significant record keeping failures' and (of course!) unpaid taxes. Fines for either default could exceed £3,000.00.

The Forum of Private Business has, as usual, come up with some very good advice, and you can read it by going to 'News' on their site.

In the meantime, I think I have to say that coming from a Government Department whose 'significant record keeping failures' resulted in the very recent past in large numbers of people having to find - suddenly, unexpectedly, and immediately - comparitively large sums of money in order to rectify the errors of HMRC employees is surely the ultimate in brass neck.

The fact is that the tax system is now such an impenetrable maze that it baffles the people who are supposed to administer it. The Forum of Private Business and its members are calling for various reforms, including a major root-and-branch simplification of the system to make it easier for small businesses to negotiate their tax responsibilities.

I would call for a major root-and-branch simplification of the system to make it easier for everyone to negotiate their tax responsibilities. I would also call for 'accountability for error' to apply to HMRC and its employees rather than just to the rest of us. And whilst we're about changing the behemoth that HMRC has become into the public servant it is supposed to be, compulsory training for all HMRC employees in communication, public relations, and customer service would not come amiss...