A Shropshire accountant is urging local businesses to look out
for proposals put forward by HMRC which could revolutionise the way
that employees are paid.
Nigel Lomax, Owner and Director of TaxAssist Shrewsbury, has
highlighted a recent consultation document issued by HMRC which
outlines two key ways in which they may change the current PAYE
system.
"It's early days" explained Nigel, "but the Improving the
Operation of Pay As You Earn: Collecting Real Time Information
consultation launched recently could see employers send HMRC
information about tax and other deductions from employees' pay when
the employee is paid, rather than at the end of the year as it
currently stands."
HMRC say that they wish to relieve the burden from employers,
and the new scheme may see employers asked to send payroll
information every month to HMRC while continuing to run the payroll
locally and make monthly payments to HMRC. A more dramatic step
though, may be that employers are asked to calculate the gross pay
for employees and actually send this whole amount to HMRC who will
deduct and keep the tax and National Insurance contributions, and
pass on the remainder in pay to individual employees.
"The second option would be great news for small businesses as
it has the potential to relieve quite a few burdens currently
imposed" explained Nigel, "however there is real uncertainty about
whether HMRC's computer systems will be able to cope with this
volume of work" he added.
"Whether businesses see these changes in a positive or negative
light, they have the potential to have a very real impact on
day-to-day operations within our business community so it's
important that everyone gets involved and makes their feelings
known" Nigel concluded.
The Shrewsbury office of TaxAssist Accountants is owned by
Chartered Management Accountant, Nigel Lomax, and looks after the
Shrewsbury, Oswestry and North Shropshire region from their office
on Sundorne Road in Shrewsbury. TaxAssist Accountants is the
largest network of accountants in the UK, and focuses its skills
specifically on small businesses and taxpayers. For further
information, or to find out how TaxAssist Accountants Shrewsbury
can help small businesses beat the recession, please contact a
member of the team on 01743 366669.