Small firms face problems with Real Time Tax info

A tax group is concerned that small businesses may have difficulty meeting their obligations under HM Revenue and Customs's new initiative on Real Time Information (RTI).

Under RTI, information about tax and other deductions under the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system is required to be transmitted to HMRC by the employer every time an employee is paid. HMRC began phased introduction of RTI this month, with a group of around 300 employers who have volunteered to take part in an initial pilot. This group will be extended later in the year and all employers will be required to submit information using RTI from October 2013.

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has said that HMRC's assessment of the impact of the introduction of RTI on small employers is inadequate.

LITRG Technical Director Robin Williamson said: "HMRC have produced an Impact Note which looks at some of the difficulties that certain small and very small employers will face when RTI and its associated obligations enter into force. But it goes nowhere near far enough in recognising the needs of those small employers who remain digitally excluded – i.e. who are unable, or find it excessively difficult, to use computers or access the internet."