Enter Your E-mail

Mark McLaughlin thinks HMRC deserves credit for its handling of the implementation of Real Time PAYE Reporting.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) issued a press release on 2 May regarding the new PAYE reporting system, real time information (RTI) (RTI: One Million Schemes Use New PAYE System).

The press release headline proudly boasted: "One million schemes use new PAYE system". As an aside, HMRC's press campaigns really make me smile at times - reading that headline at face value suggests that HMRC have managed to persuade a million employers to voluntarily use RTI, as if it's optional! The reality is, of course, that RTI is compulsory for the vast majority of employers - so they could hardly decide not to use it, could they?.       

Now that we're one month into the RTI system, it's perhaps worth pausing a moment for breath, and forming an overall impression about how the most significant change in the PAYE system has panned out. For what it's worth, in my opinion the introduction of RTI has probably gone as well as could have been hoped. Of course, RTI has been a difficult additional step for a minority of employers, and HMRC have had to provide some relaxations and exceptions from RTI reporting in a very small number of cases. However, on the whole the transition to RTI surely has to be viewed as a big success. 

In my opinion, a great deal of credit for that is due to HMRC. Many commentators (including TaxationWeb, it has to be said) are not slow to criticise HMRC when they get things wrong. It's therefore only right and proper to praise HMRC for doing something right. They've approached RTI very well on the whole, not only in terms of implementing the new system. The way in which they've publicised the introduction of RTI, and their efforts to educate and prepare employers, has also been most impressive.

I sincerely hope that HMRC continue their good work by implementing the RTI penalty regime with a soft touch, at least for the first year. RTI is going to be around for a very long time. Allowing just one year for the system to settle down would not only be sensible, it would also help to communicate the message HMRC is apparently seeking to send, that it wants to collect only information from employers through RTI, not penalties. More positive public relations for HMRC would do no harm at all, and an RTI 'amnesty' for a year would certainly help.     

Best wishes,

Mark McLaughlin 

Managing Editor