• 8.) Recommendation: HMRC should ensure that regular contact is maintained with affected taxpayers through appropriate communication platforms. It should ensure that there are enough resources to deal with queries to ensure acceptable resolution times. Response: Accepted. There is already a 12-year offshore assessing time limit in place and HMRC endeavours to remain in communication with taxpayers. • 9.) Recommendation: HMRC should set out any powers and measures that need enhancing to deal with tax avoidance and evasion. Response: Accepted. Legislation is consistently under review, with amendments to tax policy included in the Budget. • 10.) Recommendation: HMRC should report back on progress made on work referenced in its No Safe Havens 2019 report. It should engage with professional bodies in the UK to promote UK tax advice. Response: Accepted. HMRC continues to engage with professional bodies to ensure that tax advice is appropriately communicated. • 11.) Recommendation: More should be done by HMRC in its approach to vulnerable taxpayers. HMRC should provide a definition of ‘vulnerable’ used to identify these individuals. Response: Accepted. HMRC advisers are trained to identify key traits of vulnerability. There are Extra Support advisers in place to deal with vulnerable taxpayers. Ongoing research is taking place surrounding how HMRC can support its customers. • 12.) Recommendation: HMRC to report on how it has received insights from advice bodies relating to difficulties faced by taxpayers who can’t afford to pay for advice. Response: HMRC has been working with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, who provide tax and benefit-related support to certain individuals, to tackle the issue at hand. • 13.) Recommendation: HMRC needs to provide better quality guidance surrounding the workings of the tax system to vulnerable taxpayers.
Response: Accepted. HMRC acknowledges that improvements need to be made to the GOV.UK website. There are initiatives already in process to include more transparent advice online.
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Basic PAYE Tools to include provision for printing payslips 25 October 2019
HMRC has never provided the facility to print payslips from its Basic PAYE Tools software but when scrutinising the accompanying user guide, it is appears that a new function for this will be made available from April 2020. This will be great news to many as HMRC has not previously offered the option to provide staff with payslips. Basic PAYE tools can be utilised by companies who employ less than ten members of staff and will calculate tax and National Insurance on employee pay, then send the relevant information across to HMRC. It can be used in conjunction with payroll software should that not have the functionality to check a new employee’s National Insurance number, send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) and / or send an Earlier Year Update (EYU). However, the website has always maintained that other payroll software would be mandatory in the preparation and printing of payslips. The software will still only be compatible with businesses with fewer than ten staff, but it will incorporate the ability to print payslips, and it is a legal requirement for an employer to provide its employees with payslips. Payslips must be issued to staff on or before their pay day and should show always show an itemised breakdown of what pay elements have been added and of any statutory, or other, deductions that have been taken, to arrive at the net pay figure that the employee receives. Failure to supply an employee with a comprehensive payslip provides valid grounds for a tribunal so it is important for employers to comply with this legislation.
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The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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