{"id":19665,"date":"2019-10-10T11:29:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T11:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smh.group\/?p=19665"},"modified":"2023-02-15T13:19:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T13:19:53","slug":"its-not-me-its-you-small-businesses-feedback-to-hmrc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/its-not-me-its-you-small-businesses-feedback-to-hmrc\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not me, it\u2019s you: small businesses feedback to HMRC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>A report from\nHMRC looking at why small businesses contact them directly, rather than online,\nthrows a spotlight on some interesting interplay between practical and\nemotional factors at work when dealing with tax issues. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on research carried out in 2018 but only just published, HMRC explored why people contacted its helpline about <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/chartered-accountants\/vat-returns\/\">VAT<\/a><\/span><\/strong> or <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/chartered-accountants\/taxation\/corporation-tax\/\">corporation tax<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, rather than using its website resources and online accounts. The small businesses included in the focus groups and interviews behind the report expressed a belief that HMRC didn\u2019t really understand how they operate, or the pressures involved, and its online systems made managing their tax affairs an additional burden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The findings show\nthat many small businesses feel their tax affairs require more expertise than\nthey have, coupled with anxieties around falling foul of HMRC\u2019s penalties\nregime. Direct contact was generally related to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>confirming receipt of payments;\n<\/li><li>trying to understand complex\nterms and explanations; and <\/li><li>checking expenses. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>They often felt\nthat they needed to explain their circumstances to a person to avoid penalty\ncharges, which was both time-consuming and frustrating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some admitted that their own internal systems were not always as organised or up to date as they could be, such feelings are exacerbated by HMRC\u2019s online systems failing to send confirmations or updates on payments, submission deadlines or ongoing investigations. The advent of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/chartered-accountants\/making-tax-digital\/\">Making Tax Digital<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, where the portal does not issue confirmation statements, is expected to add to the dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even those who used\ntheir Business Tax Account, of which there was limited awareness, found it\ndifficult to find what they needed and still believed they should contact HMRC\nif they missed a payment. Online resources were not easy to track down and\nthere was a lack of clarity generally on the status of ongoing cases or\nqueries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The general\nfeeling that emerges from the study is that small business taxpayers can feel\nintimidated by some tax complexities. They often assume that they will be accused\nof, and penalised for, deliberately attempting to avoid tax if they make a\nmistake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nrecommendations for improvement, aimed at increasing the numbers of those\nself-serving their tax interactions with HMRC, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>simplifying the user experience\nonline;<\/li><li>reviewing language used in\ncustomer communications across HMRC\u2019s channels; and <\/li><li>re-framing the relationship\nbetween the customer and HMRC to clarify obligations and outcomes. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If any of this sounds familiar, it may help to know that you are not alone. There are resources to help and we are of course happy to discuss any areas of doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like to discuss your business tax with one of our <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/chartered-accountants\/taxation\/\">Chartered Tax Advisers<\/a><\/span><\/strong> contact us on <strong>0114 266 4432<\/strong> or <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:info@smhca.co.uk\">info@smhca.co.uk<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A report from HMRC looking at why small businesses contact them directly, rather than online, throws a spotlight on some interesting interplay between practical and emotional factors at work when dealing with tax issues. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[377,373,11,106,19,85,76],"class_list":["post-19665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smh-accounting-business-advisory","category-chartered-tax-advisers","tag-chartered-tax-advisers","tag-corporation-tax","tag-hmrc","tag-making-tax-digital","tag-tax","tag-tax-advice","tag-vat"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - 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