Nearly three-fifths of firms think the UK tax regime is unfair to businesses like theirs
Nearly three-fifths of businesses think they are unfairly penalised by the tax system, a new survey published today shows.
The survey of over 1,000 businesses by the British Chamber of Commerce uncovered widespread concerned at the way HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) applies tax rules to different types of firms.
More than two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents don’t believe HMRC applies tax rules fairly across all sizes of business.
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Micro-firms are most likely to have that view (70 per cent) compared to medium and large firms (59 per cent).
Two-thirds (64 per cent) do not agree that HMRC applies tax rules fairly regardless of where the company is domiciled.
There was also concern over the quality of service provided by HMRC.
One in two (49 per cent) firms said the HMRC does not provide the support they need to be compliant.
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “These results reflect a strong impression among businesses that the current UK tax regime isn’t a level playing field.
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“HMRC must step up efforts to provide better support to smaller businesses to get their tax right, rather than simply pursuing and enforcing penalties. This should include matching investment in frontline HMRC help towards SMEs, with their work on non-compliance and tax evasion. More also needs to be done to address the escalating burden of upfront costs and taxes to provide firms with much-needed headroom to get on and invest, train their staff, and compete on the global stage.”
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We want to help customers who need support to get their tax affairs right, while bearing down on the small minority who try to break the rules.
“We’ve worked hard to help small businesses over the past five years which is reflected by almost three quarters of them rating us positively.”