General

Q1

What is the turnover of your business?:

Please select one

Under £1m

£1m - £5m

£6m - £10m

£11m - £20m

£21m - £50m

£51m - £100m

£101m - £500m

Over £500m

Q2

How many people does your business employ?:

Please select one

None, sole trader, (Go to Q5)

1 – 9

10 - 25

26 - 50

51 - 100

101 - 200

Over 200

Employees

Q3

What do you think are the first and second priorities for simplification in the tax administration work that you have to do as an employer?:

Please select two of the following

 1st - 2nd

Procedures for employees joining and leaving

-

Benefits in kind and employees’ business expenses

-

National insurance

-

Statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay

-

Student loan deductions

-

Other (please specify)

1st - 2nd

Q4

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“A system which combines National Insurance and Income Tax rates so as to leave the total tax burden unchanged would be beneficial to my business”

Tax on business profits

In this section, we would like to cover corporation tax if your business is a company or a group, or income tax on business profits if it is a partnership or if you are a sole trader.

Q5

Please estimate how much your business spends each year on:

Please fill the following

External tax planning advice

External support (including outsourced functions such as payroll) to comply with tax law

Internal resources focused on tax planning advice

Internal resources focused on compliance with tax law

Q6

Is the amount your business spends each year on annual tax compliance (including external advice and internal resources)?:

Please select one

Increasing

Remaining the same

Decreasing

Q7

Is the amount of external and internal expenditure incurred by your business on annual tax compliance:

Please select one

Significantly higher than an appropriate level

Marginally higher than an appropriate level

At an appropriate level

Marginally less than an appropriate level

Significantly less than an appropriate level

Q8

How would you describe the forms and other information you have to complete to meet your business tax compliance responsibilities?:

Please select one

Very straightforward

Reasonably straightforward

Acceptable

A bit too complicated

Far too complicated

Not applicable – outsourced to professional advisers

Q9

In the last 5 years has the level of complexity in the tax system:

Please select one

Significantly increased

Marginally increased

Remained the same

Marginally decreased

Significantly decreased

Q10

Are there any tax reliefs or exemptions that you could claim, but do not claim because of the complexity of the system?

Please select one

Yes | No

If yes, which reliefs/exemptions?

Q11

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“The complexity of the UK tax system has forced my business to consider transferring operations outside the UK”

Q12

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“The UK tax system is having a negative impact on the UK’s international competitiveness”?

Q13

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“The current UK tax system drives economic distortion with businesses doing things for tax reasons which they would not otherwise have done”

Q14

How would you describe your business’s relationship with HM Revenue and Customs (formerly the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise) compared with five years ago?

Please select one

Significantly better

Marginally better

Neither better nor worse

Marginally worse

Significantly worse

Q15

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“A system which used accounting based profit to calculate corporation tax, using a tax rate so as to leave the total tax burden unchanged, would be beneficial to my business”

Q16

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“A simpler flat tax with no or fewer reliefs, exemptions or tax planning opportunities, using a rate so as to leave the total tax burden unchanged, would be beneficial to my business”?

Capital gains tax on individuals

Q17

Capital gains on business assets owned by individuals are taxed more lightly than gains on non-business assets, even when the business assets are sold and not replaced. Business assets include shares in many companies, including most family companies, as well as assets used by sole trader and partnership businesses.

Do you favour this system, or would you prefer a system under which gains on all assets were taxed alike, using a tax rate in between the current business and non-business tax rates so as to leave the total tax burden unchanged?

Please select one

Favour the current system

Prefer taxing gains on all assets alike

Final question

Q18

Are there any further comments that you would like to make about the UK tax system, in particular related to:

Further comments

Any difficulties you have in understanding the tax liabilities of yourself or your business

Any difficulties you have had in dealing with your tax affairs or the tax affairs of your business

Examples of economic distortion within businesses which you believe are driven by the current UK tax system

Whether you feel that tax is getting simpler or more complicated, and what the reasons for any such change might be

What is the one single change or simplification to the current UK tax system which you would most like to see

Thank you very much indeed.