30 years after its introduction, 70 per cent of UK businesses are still struggling to comply with the complexities of the UK VAT system according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. With 67 per cent of UK businesses also concerned that Customs & Excise are tightening the rules on VAT compliance, the threat of investigation and penalties is an increasing risk for the future.
Patrick Walker, head of indirect tax at PricewaterhouseCoopers said: "VAT is not just an extra 17.5 per cent to pay on the goods you buy. For business, it is a complex, multi-rate, multi-country tax currently worth around Ј61bn to the UK Government annually.
"In the current environment where Customs are taking an aggressive approach to what it considers to be avoidance, and with business profits under pressure, managing the VAT bill alongside a business' other financial responsibilities is more important now than at any other time in the tax's 30 year history."
