Payroll
O n 29 February 2024, Jason, Sam and Lora attended the HMRC stakeholder conference, held at the QEII Centre in London. The theme of the conference was ‘today, tomorrow, together’ and the day consisted of a selection of plenary speeches and workshops, the latter of which allowed attendees to share their thoughts and views on a number of tax-related topics. Opening address and plenary speeches There was an opening address from the financial secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddleston, and plenary speeches followed from: ● Jim Harra , first permanent secretary and chief executive ● Angela MacDonald , deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary. The key themes presented across each of the speeches were that of HMRC working collaboratively with stakeholders, moving to a more ‘digital by default’ approach and stopping unscrupulous practices and people from exploiting the tax system. In what was a big win for the payroll industry, Jim Harra acknowledged the successful implementation of mid-tax year changes to National Insurance (NI) that we saw from 6 January 2024 and the work that went on behind the scenes to facilitate that. He stated, “In January, software developers and employers successfully implemented the in-year changes to NI contributions that were announced by the chancellor as part of his autumn statement, and the indications are that most software developers did make all the relevant changes in time, supported by the rapid release of technical specifications by HMRC within days of the autumn statement announcement. I don’t underestimate all the hard work that went into achieving that so thank you to those of you who were involved in that.” He also reiterated one of the very clear messages of the day of HMRC wanting to work collaboratively and transparently with stakeholders, saying, “We know that we can’t deliver these improvements without working in partnership with all the stakeholders in this room and in the wider system. It will mean designing, and increasingly co-designing with you, the online services that can make things simpler and can close the tax gap by reducing the opportunities for error. We can’t achieve these things on our own, we need your help and your support.”
Nigel Huddleston MP at HMRC’s stakeholder conference
Jason Davenport, Lora Murphy and Samantha O’Sullivan attending HMRC’s stakeholder conference
There were great discussions within each of the workshops and those running the sessions confirmed they would be reviewing the proposals put forward on the day, with the intention of agreeing on action plans to be taken forward through HMRC’s engagement forums. HMRC committed to providing overviews and regular updates through further publications and events. A great networking opportunity The team from the CIPP recognised many influential faces in the industry in attendance on the day, including payroll professionals, tax specialists and software developers. It was lovely to have the chance to meet face-to-face with others within our profession and discuss all the topics which are impacting us now, along with things we know are on the horizon. Mandatory payrolling of benefits, anyone? The conference was also a key opportunity to catch up with various HMRC representatives we have worked with across numerous events, consultations, calls for evidence, think tanks and forums. Having said this, we also significantly broadened our network as we were introduced to many people from different areas within HMRC we haven’t spoken to before. Lora also managed to secure some contacts to provide content for this very magazine! All in all, a very productive day. n
Workshops The workshops covered, among other things: ● compliance ● tax simplification ● the role of intermediaries in reducing the tax gap ● generative artificial intelligence.
Jim Harra speaking at HMRC’s stakeholder conference
Angela MacDonald speaking at HMRC’s stakeholder conference
19
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 100 | May 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker