Business Support Scheme tops £5 billion

Posted by admin in Management & Execution on Wed, 10/03/2010 - 08:44
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HMRC’s Business Support Scheme, which offers businesses time to pay arrangements for tax liabilities in the recession has been running for 15 months now, and the total tax for which time to pay arrangements have been granted has reached £5.13 billion.
 
There have been 300,000 arrangements agreed during the period BPSS has been running – it was launched in the 2008 Budget in late November 2008. Deferrals can be agreed for VAT, PAYE, National Insurance and any other HMRC taxes. Other statistics released this week indicate that around 160,000 businesses have benefitted (suggesting that many of these have reached more than one time to pay arrangement(, but also that there is a very high level of payment – in most cases meeting the agreement that has been made at the outset.
 

Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury commented on the data, and confirmed that "The scheme will remain in place as long as necessary, as we want to continue to help businesses through the difficulties they are facing, because small businesses are the backbone of the British economy and have a vital part to play in our economic recovery." 

The Bottom Line:If Mr Cable has his way...

"If Mr Cable had his way, all the big banks would be broken up and bonuses would be virtually eliminated - a sure-fire way in my view of guaranteeing an end to the UK’s ability to compete as an international financial centre. Let’s not forget that this is a man who is on record as saying that everyone who works in a bank has an ‘aristocratic lifestyle’ clearly demonstrating his lack of understanding of the sector." A tough line on bankers’ bonuses could make a brain drain of financial talent a distinct possibility, warns Paul Marsden. Read more

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