SMEs affected most by tax admin. By Dan Martin
The administrative burden of complying with UK tax rules is much higher for small and medium sized businesses than their larger counterparts, new government-commissioned research reveals.
The report by accountants KPMG, carried out on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), showed the collective tax administration burden on business is in excess of £5 billion a year.
SMEs are affected the most - hit by almost £2 billion - with larger firms facing a £642 million burden. The remaining £1.2 billion falls in the laps of nano-businesses - those with no employees.
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Tax administration
Alastair, many thanks for pointing that out. I have corrected the headline.
Dan Martin
Business Writer
AccountingWEB
Taxing Times and Red Tape
I wonder why the Govt needs to spend millions with KPMG for a "statement of the bleedin' obvious". I am amazed, from the quote attached, that HMRC seem to think that the tax system (and here I assume Corporation Tax) is not difficult to understand despite the chancellors meddling over the past 8 years! As a 'small' exporter, Sage accounts doesn't do the VAT correctly, so we have to manually adjust it, Intrastat is no laugh either, and we seem to have been entered onto the Office for National Statistics' best friend list and keep getting junk from them to fill in. With employment law and all the other stuff that gets dumped upon us from on high, it is no surprise that unemployment is rising and business is complaining. The orgy of government spending and red tape is THE CAUSE of the increase in unemployment rather than the potential cure. It is the case that lower government sepending as a % of GDP and consequently lower taxes actually increase economic growth and hence employment and the amount in £'s that can be spent on the NHS and schools. Unfortunately all political parties seem blindingly unaware of this fact. Sadly, businesses cannot continue to be cash cows for ever.
that little word
administration if added to the headline conveys a different message to that conveyed without it!