Consultation launched on Revenue powers
Combined department seeks views on new powers
The Inland Revenue and Customs have launched a consultation into the future powers of the planned merged department.
The consultation document, released today, said the review will at first focus on the relationship between businesses and HM Revenue & Customs, ‘the area of greatest overlap between the existing departments’.
It is hoped the new department will simplify relations between businesses and the tax authorities, reducing the number of points of contact.
The document also outlines possible powers, proposing in particular that ‘deterrent measures should adequately reflect the seriousness of any contravention’.
There have been question marks over whether the Revenue would start to take on stronger penalties for those not paying tax, in line with Customs’ greater powers.
