Shouldn’t HMRC be supporting new businesses not penalising them?
A package of measures to support new business is on offer. It is recognised this is a crucial time to establish good relations with customers and to help them to pay the right amount of tax at the right time. For example, there is a lot of information for new businesses on the HMRC website at Starting in business. This is explained in more detail in Question 2. HMRC encourage people to join the formal economy. The new system removes fixed penalties and only applies if tax has been lost because of the failure to notify. When someone tells HMRC they should have registered a new taxable activity within a year of a penalty becoming due, any penalty can be reduced to nil. But to be fair to those who do register and pay on time a penalty is needed for those failing to do so. There is also a need to take a tough line on those deliberately evading the system.
