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Every year, thousands of returns containing dummy, incomplete or inaccurate information are submitted to the Revenue.

The inaccuracies relate to the personal details of employees, including their names, dates of birth and national insurance numbers.

A recent study of employer returns revealed that 824 employees had been allocated the surname ‘Unknown’, while 128 had been recorded as Mr, Ms or Mrs Dummy.

In addition, according to the dates of birth listed on the returns, 40 of the employees would be aged over 200. Many employees also had their forenames and surnames swapped around, or initials in the place of their first names.

HMRC is urging employers to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and complete, and has launched an online video highlighting the consequences of inaccurate returns for both employers and employees.

Jim Harr of HMRC commented, ‘It’s really important that employers get their employees’ information right, so that HMRC can match it to the right tax codes. Otherwise, it can lead to more contact from staff, trying to sort out their tax, and from HMRC, trying to sort out the data issues’.

The Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander, has suggested that wealthy individuals are receiving overly-generous tax relief – a concession which he says the Government can no longer afford.

For every £1 currently saved in a pension by a higher-rate taxpayer, the Government contributes another 40p. However, this may be cut to 20p, in line with the basic rate of income tax.

According to Mr Alexander, the move would net the Treasury an estimated £7 billion and could help fund the Liberal Democrats’ ambition to exempt those receiving the national minimum wage from paying income tax.

‘If you look at the amount of money that we spend on pensions tax relief, which is very significant, the majority of that money goes to paying tax relief at the higher rate,’ Mr Alexander told The Daily Telegraph.

‘It’s very important that in these difficult times that we are asking those with the broadest shoulders to bear the greatest share of the burden. That is very important practically and philosophically.’

The plans are likely to prove controversial, particularly in view of the recent changes to the pensions annual allowance.

The annual allowance for tax-privileged pension saving was reduced from £255,000 to £50,000 in April last year, while the lifetime allowance on money that can be accrued in a pension fund and still receive tax relief, is set to fall from £1.8 million to £1.5 million from April 2012.

Building on previous campaigns which targeted plumbers and electricians, the tax authority will now turn its attention to those in the construction sector, including roofers, bricklayers, joiners, window fitters and carpenters.

As with previous campaigns, individuals will be given the opportunity to disclose any unpaid tax in return for favourable settlement terms. Those who do not come forward by the deadline will face higher penalties thereafter.

HMRC will also focus on people who fail to complete tax returns, particularly higher-rate taxpayers, as well as those who receive an income from buying and selling goods directly to others, such as on the doorstep.

‘We are offering all the people targeted the opportunity to come forward,’ said Marian Wilson of HMRC.

‘Penalties will be higher if we come and find people after the opportunity. A criminal investigation may also result. I therefore urge them to disclose unpaid tax voluntarily.’

HMRC also confirmed its intention to target those who trade on e-marketplaces such as e-bay.

Gary Ashford, of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, said: ‘These campaigns are a real statement of intent from the Government.’

Cambridge and Manchester have been named as the first regions to try the new mediation training for employees, which is aimed at helping to resolve workplace disputes before they reach the tribunal stage.

Launching the scheme, employment relations minister Edward Davey commented, ‘We have always said that employment tribunals should be a last resort for resolving workplace disputes. Mediation offers an informal method of dispute resolution and can be used at the point when problems first arise in the workplace’.
 
The Government believes that the new scheme will help to avoid the need for formal disciplinary procedures, and reduce the number of employment tribunal claims.

However, the TUC has criticised the Government’s plans to double the qualification period for making an unfair dismissal claim, from one to two years, and its proposals to introduce new fees for individuals who wish to raise a tribunal claim, arguing that the most vulnerable workers will be hit the hardest by the new regime.

The pilot scheme will initially run for 12 months, and if successful the Government will consider rolling it out to other areas of the UK.

Under a pilot scheme launched in April 2011, HMRC had been carrying out checks on the adequacy of the statutory business records kept by small and medium-sized businesses, with the aim of improving standards of record-keeping and reducing levels of underpaid tax.

The scheme found that 28% of businesses visited had an issue with their record-keeping, while an additional 11% had issues that were serious enough to require a follow-up visit.

HMRC had originally planned to carry out a further 20,000 checks on small businesses during 2012/13, but recently announced that it would be conducting a strategic review of the project, following concerns voiced by trade and professional bodies over the additional burden being imposed on compliant businesses.

While HMRC will carry out any visits or follow-ups which have already been booked, all new checks will now by postponed until the new approach is launched, early in 2012/13.

When the programme restarts, those businesses considered to be at ‘high risk’ of keeping inadequate records will initially be contacted by telephone or letter, and asked about their record-keeping systems. HMRC will then determine which of those businesses require a visit. If the records are found to be seriously inadequate following a visit, a business will be given reasonable time to get their records in order before a follow-up visit.

The taxman has the ability to levy penalties of up to £3,000 for inadequate record-keeping, although HMRC will be consulting with business and trade organisations to identify a ‘reasonable tariff’ for those occasions when penalties are issued.

Overall, more than 90% of taxpayers met the deadline for filing their 2010/11 tax return, representing an increase of 4% on the previous year.

The online filing deadline of 31 January was effectively extended this year, when HMRC announced that no penalties would be issued for online returns received by midnight on 2 February, following concerns over the likely impact of strike action by Revenue staff, which coincided with the deadline.

31 January proved to be the busiest day for online returns, while many other taxpayers chose to file their returns during the Christmas break. Over 1,000 people filed their returns on Christmas day, while a further 11,648 chose New Year’s Day to settle their tax affairs.

Taxpayers who have not yet filed their returns or paid any outstanding tax are being urged to do so as soon as possible. Under HMRC’s new penalty regime, taxpayers who fail to file their returns on time are liable to an immediate £100 penalty, even if there is no tax to pay or the tax due is paid on time. This is followed by a series of further penalties where returns remain unfiled, or payments remain outstanding.

Publishing a revised implementation timetable, the Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, revealed that the scheme will not be fully phased in until 2018 – two years later than originally planned.

It is hoped the delay will ease the burden on small businesses during what he described as ‘exceptionally tough economic times.’

Auto enrolment will commence in October 2012 and will be phased in on a staged basis, starting with larger employers.

While the staging dates for firms with 250 or more employees will remain unchanged, smaller firms have now been given until April 2017 to implement the scheme.

Furthermore, new businesses which begin trading between April 2012 and September 2017 will have from between 1 May 2017 and 1 February 2018 to comply.

Under the amended timetable, employers with fewer than 30 qualifying workers will have implementation dates ranging from between 1 January 2016 and 1 April 2017, and those with 30 to 49 staff have from 1 August 2015 to 1 October 2015. Firms with 50 to 249 staff must implement the scheme between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2015.

Clarifying the new timetable, the Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, said: ‘Automatic enrolment will begin on time this October, taking up to 10 million people into pension saving, many for the first time ever, and all employers will be part of it.

‘We have done all we can to ease any burden on business the reforms will bring and employers of all sizes now know the date they need to start enrolling their staff.’

The Centre for Policy Studies is calling on the Chancellor to slash corporation tax to 20% in this year’s Budget, claiming that it is the ‘only source of a viable economic recovery’.

‘A cut in the rate to 20% would be a quantum leap towards encouraging the enterprise economy which this country needs. It would be a wake-up call to business both domestic and international. It would also be a significant simplification of the tax system,’ it said.

In the 2011 Budget Osborne revealed that the main rate of corporation tax would fall to 26% for the financial year beginning April 2011, and to 25% for the financial year beginning April 2012.

This is due to be followed by two further cuts, to take the main rate to 23% by April 2014.

However, the Centre for Policy Studies has warned that a more ‘dramatic’ approach is required, and even suggests that corporation tax should be cut to just 10%.

Tim Knox, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, said: ‘Profitable businesses are the only source of a viable economic recovery, the Chancellor should reduce the rate of corporation tax in the 2012 Budget — and also announce his intention to reduce it even further to 15% or even 10% once the appropriate anti-evasion measures are in place.’

The research adds: ‘The UK is facing the possibility of a double dip recession. Demand in the economy is weak. Business confidence is low. Politicians of all parties are looking for ways to encourage growth. Bold steps should be considered.’

According to the study, nearly 50% of the world’s population will be using the internet in four years’ time, leading to a surge in the current £1.5 trillion value, to £2.7 trillion.

Rising levels of mobile internet access are expected to account for much of the increase, with around 80% of internet users expected to access services via a mobile phone by 2016.

The research also suggests that the UK currently has one of the most advanced e-commerce economies, although over the coming years the majority of internet users are expected to be living in emerging markets.

Business owners are being urged to embrace the digital economy, with the study predicting that the internet will increasingly change the nature of relationships between businesses and customers.