Information service launched to help accountants

The government has made it easier for small business owners and their accountants to keep up-to-date with changes to the country's taxation regime by launching a new instant news alert service.

HM Revenue & Customs said that the new RSS feed was free to use and would let small business accountants and their clients instantly know about any changes to tax policy and procedures.

Once accountants have signed up for the service, it will automatically notify them of the latest news relevant to their work and clients.

Brian Redford, the head of the agent and employers improvement programme at HMRC, explained: "This is a free and simple way to keep up to date with what is going on in HMRC. It's easy to subscribe.

"We have also revamped our dedicated web pages for agents - they are well worth a look."

Recently, HMRC announced that it was launching several new advice lines to help small business accountants deal with self assessment tax returns and PAYE issues.