Helping newly registered businesses meet their tax obligations

Download or read book Helping newly registered businesses meet their tax obligations written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-12-06 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are around 700,000 new businesses starting up each year, all of which are required to register with HM Revenue & Customs for their different liable taxes. If a business takes on employees for example they will need to pay, PAYE, and if the business has a turnover exceeding £61,000 they then become liable for VAT. Businesses though need to register separately for each tax for which they are liable. This NAO report examines opportunities for the HM Revenue & Customs to further improve the help to new businesses, and looks at three areas: the compliance record of newly registered businesses; the process of registering for a tax; the guidance and advice provided by the Department. The report also highlights a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: the Department should target those newly registered businesses which are likely to benefit most, such as those entirely new to business and have least understanding of their tax obligations; new businesses should be encouraged to use the email alert service provided by Business Link; the Department should make guidance forms easier to understand and complete and also work more closely with other organisations such as tax agents, Business Link and financial institutions to coordinate help for new businesses in general; the introduction of a single online tax registration for businesses would be beneficial; and the Department should work towards a one stop telephone information system to cover all taxes.