Overdue VAT rises 22% to £3bn

Unpaid VAT owed to HMRC by UK businesses has risen to £3bn in the financial year ended 31 March 2018 – an increase of 22% on the previous year’s total of £2.48bn according to online business finance supermarket Funding Options.

Outstanding corporation tax bills have also risen 5% to £2bn (from £1.9bn) over the same period.

Funding Options says the dramatic jump in unpaid VAT may be driven partly by the growing problem of late payments by larger businesses to their smaller suppliers and that this unpaid VAT and corporation tax has put more businesses at risk of HMRC sanctions which can include director disqualifications asset seizures and winding-up petitions. The government set up the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) last year to help smaller businesses deal with late payments from clients but so far says Funding Options the SBC has helped only...