Most business would accept tax rise in exchange for simpler rules

Reported today on City AM

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Two thirds of UK businesses would accept a tax rise in exchange for a simpler tax system, a survey from law firm BDO has found.The survey comes ahead of the 11 March Budget, when new chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to increase spending and cut entrepreneurs' tax relief, a tax rise equivalent to £2.7bn a year.Read more: Government set to scrap entrepreneurs' relief in £2.7bn tax grabIt showed that the UK's businesses want the tax system to be simpler and less cumbersome. A significant majority – 66 per cent – of respondents indicated they would accept a rise in taxes in exchange for a simplification programme, a rise of 18 per cent since the 2018 budget.Only 12 per cent of the more than 600 respondents to the survey said they did not find tax cumbersome, BDO said.Paul Falvey, tax partner at BDO, said: "It is promising that businesses are looking to the future and appear to support our view that tax simplification is needed to help organisations tackle the challenging landscape.""Now is the time for the government to make business easier by simplifying tax. It requires progressive steps to be taken and an end to back door tax increases engineered by changing the rules for tax reliefs and allowances."The survey also showed that businesses are divided over how to boost investment, which has suffered during the Brexit impasse.Almost a third of businesses suggest making equity investment tax deductible for individuals, whilst just over one quarter believe that up-front income tax relief could encourage business investment.Falvey said: "Businesses are looking for the government to show that it will deliver on its promises to make the economy prosper post-Brexit."

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