More than 20,000 businesses have accepted Alistair Darling’s invitation in the Pre-Budget Report to pay their taxes on a timetable they can afford.
Having agreed a payment plan with HM Revenue & Customs, they have deferred paying a total of £350million in taxes, including their VAT and National Insurance.
But the taxman’s official figures also show that the number of firms asking for help in the last fortnight has doubled, suggesting their cash constraints have intensified.
Reflecting on the figures, Stephen Timms, the financial secretary to the Treasury, said the Business Payment Support Service was helping business stay open and keep staff.
“I urge any business facing financial difficulty in these challenging economic times to pick up the phone and speak to an HMRC adviser,” he added.
The MP said that a short call of about 10 minutes could save hard-working businesses time and money, though all deferral requests must be made before the tax is overdue.
Under the scheme, late payment surcharges on payments included in the arrangement will be waived, but interest will still be due on those taxes where it applies.
It has given 20,000 businesses their own individual timetables to pay all HMRC taxes, including PAYE income tax, within the last six weeks, officials said.
Jan 19, 2009
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