Small business tax to be reviewed

Specific tax issues faced by individuals starting a business, along with the most problematic tax hurdles encountered by small businesses are under review by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), in an aim to simplify the tax regime.

OTS stated that many small businesses were struggling under the administrative burden and that plans are afoot to set up surveys and roadshows to identify the steps that cause most difficulty.

The first phase of the OTS small-business review, published earlier this year, found that Revenue & Customs was “feared” by small businesses. It said there was a strongly held opinion that the Revenue viewed small businesses as tax evaders, and that this impacted their approach.  The review also reported that businesses felt that they spent too much time sorting out the Revenue’s errors.

Further findings of the review are due to be published prior to the next Budget.