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Signs the government is more sympathetic to business because of the recession are undermined by fresh figures showing almost half of all petitions to close companies are sent by the taxman. Research from advisers at UHY Hacker Young reveal that HM Revenue & Customs was behind 43 per cent of the total number of ‘wind-up’ petitions lodged in the last six months. Reflecting on the figures, the accountant said other major creditors, such as banks, have come under political pressure to “go easy” on debtors, yet “HMRC’s priority remains to maximise debt recovery.” Rather than fall behind on tax payments, and then hope for HMRC’s leniency, businesses were advised to use the ‘time to pay’ scheme if they have cash flow problems. Although HMRC has toughened the criteria for repeat users of the scheme, which allows tax payments to be deferred, signing up to it now might be easier than waiting until June. Nick Hancock, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: “Businesses will be concerned about HMRC turning the screws after the election as it strives to improve the public finances. “If a business has unpaid tax and does not have a ‘time to pay’ agreement in place, HMRC is still prepared to pull the plug on that business to recover what it is owed.” Company owners were warned that HMRC would be “very quick to push the button on their business” if they fail to agree a timetable to pay tax with its officials, or break such an agreement. “The most important message for businesses is that they cannot allow themselves to fall behind with tax payments and then hope for HMRC’s good will,” Hancock said. “They have to open up dialogue with HMRC as soon as they foresee cash flow problems and negotiate a realistic ‘time to pay’ agreement.” Jan 12, 2010 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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