Concessions made to small businesses by HM Revenue & Customs over radical PAYE reforms have been watered down, say tax advisers.
They say they are being limited to businesses with fewer than 50 employees which do their payrolls manually, rather than with the aid of a computer.
But HMRC says it has not changed the scope of the temporary relaxation of reporting requirements for small employers. Until October 5th they can send payroll data on a monthly basis.
Fears that the smallest businesses would struggle to cope with the more demanding Real Time Information System, even with the help of free software, led to HMRC bowing to pressure to give them more time to adapt.