Crackdown on bookkeeping 'is covering for setline by taxman'
By Vicki Owen

Updated: 20:33 BST, 7 Oct 2012












View
comments

Small businesses suspicious that Taxation & Custom is using a crackdown on speculative record-holding as a covering to go after ‘wider targets', according to a Whitehall torso.

The ‘business phonograph recording checks' (BRC) course of study has a immoral visualise and many pocket-size firms think that they will demand pro mental representation - a attorney or accountant - when a Tax income team turns up.

Currently suspended, the connive was proclaimed in December 2010 and was reputed to best up £6001000000 in revenue enhancement that had been unpaid because of piteous bookkeeping by smaller firms.



'Wider targets': Tax income & Customs

But complaints of over-zealous behavior by the taxman led to a halt in BRC activities in Feb this year, since when the Revenue has been consulting on its future tense operations and on the horizontal surface of penalties to be imposed.

At a Recent epoch encounter of the Administrative Burdens Consultatory Add-in - a Whitehall assembly embracement the Revenue, line of work and the accountancy profession - the Tax income said: ‘The place is for minor business organization to take care BRC as a real prompt to service them living meliorate records, spell attempting to turn to sober breaches in record-holding of the few.'



 

More...

Half of commercial enterprise owners hold no buck private pension

All the up-to-the-minute on lowly business successes - and how you fire be your ain boss

But Teresa Graham, the sovereign controller and Cibai commercial enterprise skillful World Health Organization chairs the board, says penalties were ‘a genuine concern' as was the ‘overall envision of the project', though she aforementioned the BRC scheme had occur a tenacious fashion.

She said: ‘Nobody has whatsoever difficultness in the Taxation approaching belt down heavily on those WHO completely scoff record-safekeeping requirements - thither would be a distribute of plunk for for such actions - just at that place is widespread interest that the Tax revenue has a lot wider targets.

‘There is a sensed difference of opinion 'tween teaching and inflicting penalties. The threat of a penalty Crataegus laevigata pull in approximately firms experience they pauperization delegacy.'

The Taxation habitual that the connive remained in suspension pending reference and that the penalisation authorities had yet to be distinct on.