BBC expense form move 'will create more work for Revenue'
The BBC's decision to allow its staff to authorise their own expenses may create an additional burden on the taxman, according to mid-tier firm Grant Thornton.
The corporation today announced staff would be authorised to sign their own expenses for up to £100 in a move that it hopes will cut down on red tape and raise morale.
But tax partner Mike Warburton said the decision could actually increase administrative burdens.
He said: ‘If the BBC are going to end the countersignature of claims, the Revenue may withdraw their dispensation, thereby increasing the BBC’s administrative burden, rather than reducing it as they had hoped.’
Warburton explained most large corporations are given a special dispensation from the Inland Revenue allowing employers not to report certain expenses on the taxable work-related benefits P11D forms providing that the claims are countersigned by someone else in the organisation.
He added that if the corporation decides to report all claims on employees’ P11D forms, the Revenue may have to conduct an audit to confirm that all expenses were reported.
