I have heard through the grapevine that HMRC are looking
closely at withdrawing support for the Time To Pay arrangements from this April
and these arrangements have been so popular in the past with SMEs in clearing
company debt; too popular, perhaps. Some may be surprised to hear me say, but I
believe generally that HMRC do a good job in very difficult circumstances.
IT System Changes and Staffing Losses
HMRC have had
to endure IT system changes which have not always been as successful as they
should have been. Cut-backs in staffing numbers reduction in pension benefits
as have all civil servants along with chopping and changing of what jobs are
completed where. The communication systems were antiquated though they are
trying to catch up and some at the higher levels finally have access to
external email. There is an awful lot of confusion inside and outside regarding
the new phone systems which frankly leave a lot to be desired as there is only
so many times you can hear Vivaldi or Green Sleeves before you start banging
your head on the desk in tune with the beat.
Attempted humour aside, any cut-back on the SMEs ability to
agree a time to pay arrangement would be a severe set-back to those companies
who genuinely need help when coming out of recession. We deal with company debt
and HMRC negotiations as part of our work and the time to pay arrangement has
been a valuable tool and saved some companies - no question.
The longest recession in recorded history
Coming out of a recession is bad enough but coming out of
the longest recession in recorded history is another. I am hoping that Carney
keeps the interest rates down as businesses need as much help as is possible.
Okay, I know there will be some out there saying “Well I pay my taxes on time so
why shouldn’t they?” I accept the point, but I do come across a large percentage
of smaller businesses who have cut to the bone to survive. Once a company does
this they are very vulnerable and it is easy to get into difficulty for no
other reason than a larger business debtor has decided to pay later than
agreed. You can argue these companies should not have placed all their eggs in
one basket, but the reality is these smaller businesses represent a significant
part of the British economy.
I appreciate these HMRC time to pay arrangements are time
consuming and so I assume they are costly to manage and monitor, but what is
the alternative to a time to pay arrangement?
