Penalties Reform – The Next Stage
Hello self-employed taxpayers,
I hope you enjoyed your holidays. I’m sure it might be quite difficult for those of you who haven’t submitted your tax return yet with the the deadline coming soon.
Now, you might wonder what this Next Stage is all about!
Well, as part of ”The Review of Powers, Deterrents and Safeguards HMRC has been developing ideas and consulting on how to modernise and align civil financial penalties.[…]The first substantial measure,[…] was a single new penalty regime for incorrect returns for income tax, corporation tax, Pay As You Earn(PAYE), national insurance contributions (NICs) and value added tax(VAT)(the main taxes)”(HMRC and the Taxpayer, Modernising Powers, Deterrents and Safeguards, Penalties Reform:The Next Stage.Consultation Document 10 January 2008).
In other words, the Tax Office wants to make sure that people do pay the right amount of tax and at the right time. The payment of taxes together with the repayments and reliefs cannot be voluntary or arbitrary. They must be governed at all times by a framework of rules
and obligations. According to HMRC, these penalties should influence behaviour, should be effective and fair.
Penalties have been considered in the following categories:
•incorrect returns
•failure to notify a new taxable activity
•late filing and late payment
•record keeping and information powers failure
•other regulatory failures.
There will be no penalty where taxpayers make a mistake or misinterpret the law despite taking reasonable care in completing their returns.
To make sure your tax return is submitted correctly and in time visit Taxfile‘s tax accountants in South London and they will do it on your behalf.