Agent Update 11 (covering April and May 2009) includes interesting news of a “cross government” information resource which has been launched for agents (branded as advice for Accountants and Tax Advisers).

The resource [1] is hosted on the Business Link website and provides useful pointers to a variety of information from various Government departments, principally in relation to tax and Companies House regulatory issues.

The new resource acts as a signpost or a collective bundle of useful links for advisers on these topics, and includes links to a wide variety of resources and the normal Business Link “tools” area which includes tools for the following :

• Sign up for email alerts for accountants and tax advisers




• Use our tool to create a personalised PDF guidebook




• Search for an available company name and trade mark




• Tax manuals on the HMRC website




• Guidance booklets on the Companies House website




• Commercial filing software advice on the Companies House website




• Commercial filing software advice on the HMRC website




• Send new employer details by email on the HMRC website




• Download form (64-8) authorising an agent to act on a client's behalf from the HMRC website

It remains to be seen whether agents will feel comfortable in the new environment, or whether most will persist in visiting the hmrc.gov.uk site, but ultimately it is anticipated that all users will move to the new Business Link environment, as HMRC will migrate their content across, making HMRC’s own website a resource about the tax authority, rather than a reference on all things tax.