Looping loopholes! SMEs are being targeted

Loopholes, loopholes and more loopholes! If only we could wind the clock back and initiate a tax system that is fair and easily understood . . .

We recently blogged about the case of Starbucks because their story highlights just how complex tax avoidance can be. Now we have had to call in our German counterparts in the form of Wolfgang Schäuble, (the German finance minister) to initiate an international crackdown on tax avoidance because of companies that are based outside the UK but operate within in the UK and pay little or no tax.

It seems unfair that the more the larger companies get away with tax avoidance the more SMEs suffer. It seems easier for the HMRC to chase smaller business than it is to chase the larger organisations that can afford complex corporate structures to make the loopholes viable.

I am starting to wonder whether we will ever get to the bottom of UK and International tax loopholes and what will happen if they are constantly created and taken advantage of. Reducing tax is one thing; not paying at all is another.

Our businesses all pay the standard corporation tax and are happy to do so because we want to be an integral part of the UK business community.

Let us know if you think we’ll ever see the end of tax loopholes.

If you like the way we think – you will like the way we work.

AIMS Accountants for Business are the largest independent association of professionally qualified accountants in the UK specialising in accountancy for small, local and independent businesses. AIMS are no ordinary accountants and we are more than just number crunchers! Find your local AIMS Accountant.