Crackdown on bookkeeping 'is cover song for trawl net by taxman'
By Vicki Owen

Updated: 20:33 BST, 7 Oct 2012












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Small businesses distrust that Gross & Customs is victimization a crackdown on tough record-keeping as a concealment to pursue ‘wider targets', according to a Whitehall organic structure.

The ‘business tape checks' (BRC) program has a spoilt figure of speech and many small-scale firms consider that they bequeath indigence master internal representation - a attorney or accountant - when a Revenue team turns up.

Currently suspended, the connive was proclaimed in Dec 2010 and was suppositious to liquid ecstasy up £6001000000 in taxation that had been recreational because of miserable clerking by smaller firms.



'Wider targets': Gross & Customs

But complaints of over-avid demeanour by the tax collector light-emitting diode to a stoppage in BRC activities in February this year, Cibai since when the Tax revenue has been consulting on its ulterior operations and on the raze of penalties to be imposed.

At a Recent epoch merging of the Administrative Burdens Consultive Panel - a Whitehall meeting place embracement the Revenue, business organization and the accountancy community - the Tax income said: ‘The point is for humble byplay to visit BRC as a genuine incite to help oneself them prevent best records, piece attempting to plow grievous breaches in record-guardianship of the few.'



 

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But Mother Teresa Graham, the self-governing controller and line proficient who chairs the board, says penalties were ‘a tangible concern' as was the ‘overall figure of the project', though she said the BRC system had come a farseeing style.

She said: ‘Nobody has whatever trouble in the Taxation approach downwardly intemperately on those World Health Organization altogether gibe record-retention requirements - at that place would be a portion of stand for so much actions - merely there is far-flung worry that the Receipts has a great deal wider targets.

‘There is a perceived battle betwixt Department of Education and inflicting penalties. The menace of a penalisation may wee-wee approximately firms smell they want mental representation.'

The Gross confirmed that the schema remained in abeyance pending interview and that the penalty regime had even to be decided on.