Publications featured in include: Financial Times and Sunday Times.
- Taxpayers could face much larger fines under the new regime
- HMRC has little sympathy for “can pay but won’t pay” stance
The new late payment regime will see HMRC impose penalties which are proportionate to the amount of tax owed and how late the tax is due.
Graham Boar, tax partner at our Letchworth office, says: “The new late payment regime is going to be much tougher for some taxpayers. Particularly for those with large tax bills, this could see them face rather hefty penalties.
A reform of penalties for the late payment of tax has been floated previously, but the Government has finally taken the leap in order to fund the budget deficit.
During the current crisis HMRC has been sympathetic to those who can’t pay their tax but it’s going to get a whole lot tougher on the “can pay, won’t pay” crowd.”
Graham also says that the penalty reform is largely in connection with the Government’s move towards ‘Making Tax Digital’ for Income Tax, which is being introduced in April 2023. This is intended to make the penalty regime more suited to quarterly filings of income tax as opposed to the current, once a year, model.
For VAT taxpayers, these reforms will come into play on or after 1 April 2022, and for Income Tax, they will begin from 6 April 2023 for individuals with business or property income over £10,000 per year.
