Small businesses struggle to pay tax

The cost of living crisis is increasing the tax bill pressure on small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) with more than 430 000 firms currently struggling to pay money owed to HMRC according to research from Premium Credit.

The study found 17% say it has become harder to pay their tax since the cost of living crisis started and 23% believe it’s likely their company will find it tougher paying one or more tax bill in the next five years.

However problems paying tax bills is a long-standing issue for SMEs the research found with one in seven (14%) – more than 750 000 firms admitting they have found it challenging to pay a tax bill in the past ten years. The average amount owed was around £50 400 but 9% said they had owed more than £100 000.

SMEs who have struggled to fund tax bills in the...