Following the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report , the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise announced details of a new small business unit that is intended to transform tax administration for small businesses. The new unit will sit at the heart of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and will be charged with improving customer experience and compliance as well as reducing costs - for both businesses and HMRC - by eliminating unnecessary contact. It will ensure that the development and delivery of the tax system takes full account of the needs of small businesses.

The longer-term goal for HMRC is to enable its support and compliance staff to take a "whole view" of each customer, tailoring the services provided and minimising the burden of compliance by providing:

• joined-up systems so that business needs to provide information only once, when possible through a single form
• integrated audits covering direct and indirect taxes
• a single account through which all payments and repayments may be made
• streamlined and effective support and access to information in a way that better suits small business customers, including more effective use of information technologies and the internet.

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...back to 3 December 2004


Source:
www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pbr2004/small-business.htm