“UK Tax system is unfair,” say small businesses

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) conducted a survey throughout January and February of 2019 that produced some interesting findings. The survey covered more than 1,000 businesses across the UK, 96 per cent of which were SMEs with fewer than 250 employees; 68 per cent of the businesses were in the service sector and 32 per cent in manufacturing.

Undertaken to discover how fair respondents believed the UK tax system to be in a number of different situations, the results show that faith in the integrity of the system aren’t exactly high. 58 per cent of respondents felt that businesses like theirs were not treated fairly by the tax regime. 6 per cent of respondents did not believe that tax rules are applied fairly across all sizes of business by HMRC. Smaller businesses are more likely to hold that view, at 70 per cent, but it’s still the view held by the majority of medium and large businesses, at 59 per cent.

When asked whether they agree that HMRC applies tax rules fairly regardless of where a business is based geographically, 64 per cent of respondents did not agree. The trend of smaller businesses being more likely to feel this way continues, with 67 per cent of small businesses believing this, as opposed to 59 per cent of medium and large.

It isn’t just how fairly the rules were applied that come under fire in the results of this survey, however. The quality of service that the HMRC provides, and the support they offer to ensure that businesses remain compliant, is considered insufficient by 51 per cent of small businesses. This figure still sits at 42 per cent for medium and larger companies, with an overall average of 49 per cent of respondents finding it unsatisfactory.

As the tax system becomes ever more complex, firms are suggesting that sufficient support needs to be provided to ensure that they can keep up with regulations and remain compliant. The BCC are taking this call one step further, and pushing for the HMRC to take action by providing the same level of investment into support and tax advice for businesses as it puts into tax avoidance work.

Head of Economics at the BCC, Suren Thiru, sees it like this; “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.”