Tax burdens weigh down on East Mids business
The tax system is still imposing administrative burdens on businesses, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors. Ron Lynch, the IoD's regional director in the East Midlands, says the government "needs to move ahead on all fronts" in solving the problem.
The survey large numbers of business people are still not clear about their tax obligations; 19 per cent are unclear on corporation tax, 15 per cent for employee taxes and 10 per cent for VAT.
Revenue officials were also found to have a "poor understanding of businesses", according to 37 per cent of those surveyed. A total of 33 per cent found it difficult to get the information they needed from HMRC help lines or from its website.
Lynch said: "The administrative burden has been reduced over the past four years, but it is still too high. The government needs to move ahead on all fronts: the rules of the tax system, the degree of automation and the helpfulness of officials.
"Above all, we need to see tough, numerical, and published targets for continuing improvement. HMRC’s business plan for the next five years did show a commitment to transparency, and outlined several helpful initiatives. But we must make sure that the government uses its new attitude to long-term planning to give itself a suitably hard time."
