Treasury written question – answered at on 14 June 2011.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Office of Tax Simplification review of tax administration for small business includes consideration of VAT registration; and when he expects the Office of Tax Simplification to report its findings.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), and I have asked the OTS to reply.
Letter from John Whiting, dated June 2011
Guto Bebb MP has submitted a written parliamentary question about the tax administration strand of the Office of Tax Simplification's final report for the review of small business taxation. The question was:
“To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office of Tax Simplification review of tax administration for small business includes consideration of VAT registration; and when he expects the Office of Tax Simplification to report its findings.”
The OTS's interim report on small business taxation was published on
The Chancellor responded to this report in Budget 2011, and commissioned the OTS to look into tax administration in the final report on small business taxation. On
As set out in the Exchequer Secretary's letter, the remit of the work on tax administration will require the OTS to “examine closely small businesses' experience of tax administration and their contact with HMRC at key stages of their annual cycle” and to "give specific consideration of the issues involved in starting and growing a new business." The terms of reference for this work are attached in the annex of this document.
Over the summer, the OTS will gather evidence and conduct research to determine the areas of tax administration that ought to be prioritised. The operation of VAT registration is very much within the remit, although we understand that HMRC is already working hard to improve the registration process. As highlighted in the interim report, the OTS is also interested in the administrative difficulties related to VAT and international trade that pose particular problems for small businesses.
An exact date for publication has not yet been determined, but the OTS has been asked to deliver recommendations on tax administration for small business ahead of Budget 2012. We would be happy to inform the questioner when the report is published.
I hope this is helpful, and would like to thank Mr Bebb for his interest in our work.
(1) This letter has been published on the OTS website:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/ots_xstletter_small_business_tax_review_090511.pdf
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