Tax advisory firms flagged this up shortly after the release of the consultation paper like this one from July 30th

"Following on from an announcement in the June 2010 Budget, HMRC has initiated a consultation process regarding some options to overhaul radically the current PAYE system.
Firstly, they consider using "Real Time Information", which means employers would provide data to HMRC on pay and deductions every time an employee is paid instead of just reporting at the end of the tax year.
The idea is to enable HMRC to issue a tax code to ensure that the employee pays the correct amount of tax/NIC throughout the year without the need to make significant adjustments after the tax year has ended.
It is envisaged that the employer would benefit by removing the need for employers to have to complete forms P45 and P46 for starters/leavers and it will also simplify the year end reporting process."

more....

"Combined with real-time information, this could reduce the employer burden by up to £500m and result in more accurate tax deductions, especially for those for whom PAYE currently works less well – pensioners, agency workers and those with several jobs. There could also be a significant reduction in the cost of administering PAYE for HMRC."


But McGrath is quite right in identifying the press were slow to pick this up - it was hardly a 'secret'

Now the usual tabloids have been equally keen to give, what are still proposals, an Orwellian scenario