Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Federation of Small Businesses, Taking a toll: small businesses and the cost of tax compliance, published on 22 April, particularly in regard to the (1) time spent, and (2) cost, for small business to remain tax compliant.

The Government is committed to simplifying the tax system for all taxpayers including small businesses and is taking this forward as part of its three priorities for HMRC.

HMRC is investing in its customer services, greater use of data and improving its digital services which will improve overall customer experience and reduce the time and therefore cost to comply.

HMRC welcomes the FSB’s report and officials are currently reviewing its detail. HMRC will be engaging with the FSB to understand the underlying methodology used to assess the average time and cost to comply.