The launch of a new ‘simpler’ tax system will enable small businesses to settle their tax affairs more quickly, according to the government.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched its new report, ‘Delivering a new relationship with business’, detailing plans to change its relationship with business by allowing tax affairs to be settled faster and more easily.
According to HMRC, the four-year plan will also reduce the administrative burden of tax obligations on small businesses.
A system of single customer records will be developed, which HMRC says is a vital step towards having a single business customer account that shows all of a firm’s transactions in one place.
The plan will deliver ‘a real change from which small businesses should feel real benefits’, according to John Healey MP, financial secretary to the Treasury.
Healey said small and medium businesses are ‘vital’ to the economy’s success, and the announcement of the plan showed the commitment of HMRC to provide them with a system that is ‘efficient and tailored to meet their needs’.
“We have made real progress in reducing the burdens on small businesses 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,” said Paul Gray, acting chairman of the HMRC.
“Today’s paper details what we aim to achieve over the next four years to make the new relationship with business a reality.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006
