Despite HMRC launching an eight-month public consultation on its flagship Making Tax Digital proposals requiring a switch to digital financial records and quarterly online updating, a fifth of micro business owners have no knowledge of the plans, according to a survey by online accounting provider FreeAgent
The survey of 580 owners of UK micro businesses with fewer than 10 employees, found 20% of respondents said they did not know what Making Tax Digital actually was, while 84% said they did not think that the government has provided enough information about Making Tax Digital or how the legislation would affect UK business owners.
However, FreeAgent also found that businesses who knew about tax digitisation were generally supportive, with 41% saying that they felt positive about the plans compared to 11% who were negative, while more than a quarter (27%) of respondents saying that they thought the legislation would make running their business easier.
Ed Molyneux, CEO of FreeAgent, said: ‘Making Tax Digital will be one of the biggest changes made to the UK tax system for generations and will potentially start to impact businesses from as early as 2018. But although many micro business owners appear to be positive about the proposals, it’s clear from our research that many others still require more information about what tax digitisation actually is and how it will potentially impact them.’
Find out more about the plans for Making Tax Digital here
