HMRC business plan short on detail, says IoD

Dated: 8 November 2010

Commenting on the HMRC (Revenue and Customs) business plan announced today, Richard Baron, Head of Taxation at the Institute of Directors (IoD), said:

“We should be very concerned that key parts of the HMRC’s business plan do not yet exist and are only promised. Apparently HMRC will develop a change and delivery plan by February, and a plan to bring in an extra £7bn of tax revenue that will be ready by April. But the Chancellor has already decided to spend £900m on bringing in extra tax revenue. There ought to have been detailed plans in place before that money was allocated.

“Overall the sentiments in the business plan are worthy, and the intentions are the right ones. In some areas, specific big tasks that will clearly take several months to perform are identified. Those tasks are sensible ones that could deliver real improvements, and the timescales are reasonable.

“We also welcome the place of real-time PAYE information in the plan. IoD members tell us that reducing the administrative burden of PAYE is a high priority. This could help, so long as it is delivered in a way that fits smoothly into existing payroll processes. We look forward to the forthcoming consultation on the detail of implementation.”

Click here to see the HMRC business plan:
Commenting on the HMRC (Revenue and Customs) business plan announced today, Richard Baron, Head of Taxation at the Institute of Directors (IoD), said:

“We should be very concerned that key parts of the HMRC’s business plan do not yet exist and are only promised. Apparently HMRC will develop a change and delivery plan by February, and a plan to bring in an extra £7bn of tax revenue that will be ready by April. But the Chancellor has already decided to spend £900m on bringing in extra tax revenue. There ought to have been detailed plans in place before that money was allocated.

“Overall the sentiments in the business plan are worthy, and the intentions are the right ones. In some areas, specific big tasks that will clearly take several months to perform are identified. Those tasks are sensible ones that could deliver real improvements, and the timescales are reasonable.

“We also welcome the place of real-time PAYE information in the plan. IoD members tell us that reducing the administrative burden of PAYE is a high priority. This could help, so long as it is delivered in a way that fits smoothly into existing payroll processes. We look forward to the forthcoming consultation on the detail of implementation.”

Click here to see the HMRC business plan: http://www.number10.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/HMRC-FINAL-Business-Plan.pdf

ENDS

Contact Points

Edwin Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED
Tel: +44 (0)20 7451 3392
Mob: +44 (0)7814 386 243
Email: edwin.morgan@iod.com
Website: www.iod.com/policy

Notes to editors

  • The IoD (Institute of Directors) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with upwards of 45,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.
  • The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities (including ten UK regional centres [three in London, Reading, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Belfast] and one each in Paris and Brussels), conferences, networking events, virtual offices and hotdesking, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services and a comprehensive Information Centre. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors – Chartered Director – as well as running specific board-level and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.
  • In addition, the IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to government and key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include ministers, constituency MPs, Select Committee members and senior civil servants. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media.
  • For further information, visit our website: www.iod.com
  • You can also keep up to date with the latest views from the IoD on twitter.com/The_IoD and at blogs.iod.com