HMRC’s hammer to come down hard on SMEs again

A consultation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) stated that up to 50,000 small businesses could be targeted by HMRC agents in order to check that their business records meet minimum reporting standards.

But the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warns that this will just be another excuse for the hammer to come down hard on SMEs yet again.

Indeed, the consultation states that if business records fail to meet minimum reporting standards a fine of up to £3,000 will be levied. This could add up to a potential £600m of extra revenue for HMRC over the next four years, the consultation says.

Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance/hmrcs_hammer_to_come_down_hard_on_smes_again

Taxman targets 50,000 small firms in record keeping clampdown

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) intends to investigate 50,000 small and medium sized companies in 2011 for failing to keep proper records and underpaying tax.

The ‘business records checks‘ campaign will target the 40% of all 4.9m businesses that HMRC said suffered from poor record keeping and where unpaid tax was likely to be due.

The department will use its existing powers to tackle 50,000 of the worst cases each year from the second half of this year, with penalties imposed for significant record keeping failures.

Read full article: http://www.businesszone.co.uk/topic/regulation/taxman-targets-small-firms-record-keeping-clampdown/32644?ref=ukbf

Free UK Internet Payroll – HMRC approved

Payroo payroll is probably the easiest and simple to use payroll in town.

It has an intuitive driven menu and guided steps that help you to manage your payroll with ease over the Internet. As secure as Internet banking Payroo is available 24 x 7 for you to process up to 50 employees at any time for FREE.

The advertisements in this FREE payroll will not in any way interrupt your normal usage. Payroo is accredited by HMRC and is fully in compliant with all the e-filing and statutory requirements.

For more Info :  www.Payroo.com

HMRC stance on Time to Pay scheme may force UK economy into a double-dip recession

The announcement in March of this year that the HMRC Time to Pay scheme (TTP) – a scheme launched to help ailing businesses delay their tax payments – was to be extended for another five years was met with a huge sigh of relief by the business community.

However, news in August of this year that HMRC is withholding statistical information regarding the tax deferral scheme has been met with alarm by many insolvency practitioners. The information is used by these practitioners to determine whether a business is likely to be successful in achieving delayed tax repayment under the scheme, and the fact that HMRC is withholding it has been viewed by many as an indication that the Government is attempting to dissuade businesses from using the scheme.

Read full article: http://www.cashflowuk.com/news/2010/sep/hmrc-stance-on-time-to-pay-scheme.html

HMRC to clamp down on small business

A barrage of tax investigations is set to hit small businesses this autumn.

Abbey Tax, provider of fee protection insurance to firms of accountants, says that the coming months will see an increase in the number of firms being scrutinised under HM Revenue & Customs’ inquiry process.

The measures are designed to help the government plug the £158 billion hole in public finances.

Abbey Tax expects the number of HMRC inquiries into small businesses to go on increasing over the coming months, with tax inspectors being tasked to bring in as much money as possible, as quickly as possible.

The crackdown comes at a time when businesses are already under pressure, with 25 percent of UK SMEs currently exceeding their working capital, according to research from Venture Finance.

Paul Mason, senior manager at Abbey Tax, says: ‘If you want to claim expenses, make sure you have the receipts to back them up.’

Source: http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/channels/small-business-finance/news/1279228/hmrc-to-clamp-down-on-small-business.thtml

Government penalties are increasing!

Companies house

Cross-border VAT changes 2010

The changes to the Cross-border VAT rules announced at Budget represent a significant reform of the VAT regime applying to services and introduce important changes to the intra-EU reporting regime for goods. These changes, adopted by EU Finance Ministers in February 2008 and December 2008 will:

• modernise and simplify the current rules relating to cross-border supplies of services
• make the recovery of VAT on purchases made in other EU countries more efficient
• help to counter VAT fraud

To comply with the new rules, businesses will need to make fundamental changes to their current VAT accounting and reporting processes in order to be ready for 1 January 2010.

More info: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/VAT/cross-border-changes-2010.htm