MPs urge HMRC to help small businesses with RTI
MPs have said that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) must simplify how the introduction of real time information for universal credits will affect SMEs.
Parliament's public accounts committee has said that the tax authority has yet to establish how real time information (RTI) will affect people working in small companies that do not use electronic payroll.
They suggest that HMRC must develop a new approach for businesses that are likely to be outside RTI in order to avoid further tax credit problems.
The committee calls for a single body to be responsible for overseeing the interaction between different benefits, whether means tested or not.
Currently, no one department has overall responsibility for means testing and for ensuring consistency of approach. Thirty different means tested benefits are currently being managed by nine departments and 152 local authorities in England.
Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, said: "The sheer complexity of the benefits system places a heavy burden on claimants.
"People claiming multiple benefits, such as housing benefit and child tax credit, deal with different public bodies. This can be confusing and potentially discourage legitimate applications. Departments responsible for means testing must work together to get a better understanding of the burdens placed on claimants."
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