Small businesses fight against digital tax proposals

The small business sector has been fighting back against changes that will force companies to report every quarter. The proposals to simplify tax reporting by calculating only sales, payroll and interest costs to determine a company’s overall tax bill, have proved unpopular among small businesses. Government plans for digital record-keeping increase the need for simplified taxes that businesses can readily understand, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the body which represents owner-managed businesses and the self-employed. It said that “simplification is necessary for the digitisation of tax to be effective for HM Revenue & Customs and meaningful for smaller businesses”.

The future of the tax return?

HMRC claims the new regime would be “secure, light-touch and far less burdensome than the tax returns of today”. However, the FSB has joined forces with business groups and professional bodies in warning against a mandatory regime, with the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group stating that compelling small businesses to submit information digitally would make some involuntarily non-compliant.    

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