Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of planned increases to audit exemption thresholds on rates of tax evasion.

The proposal to increase the monetary thresholds for company size are based on findings from a call for evidence on non-financial reporting, which the Department for Business and Trade undertook last year. Most respondents supported amending the qualifying criteria that determine company size, particularly raising the monetary thresholds.

Under the proposals around 14,000 companies will be reclassified from medium-sized to small and therefore may be eligible for the small company audit exemption. Many of these companies are owned and operated by family members, who are well-versed in the company’s operations. The benefits of audit are more limited for such businesses.