Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could not foot their tax bill if the government proceeds with its threat to introduce a tax on unrealised capital gains, according to a survey by accountants and business advisors PKF.
In a survey of almost 100 UK companies, 78% of SMEs voted against the change, part of the proposals currently under review. The second sore point is the complexity of transitional rules – this is considered too much of a headache by many SMEs, with almost half feeling strongly enough to say they would rather forgo the reform's benefits in favour of avoiding red tape.
Respondents are particularly concerned that transfer-pricing bureaucracy will be extended to all transactions between related UK companies (it is currently restricted to international transactions between such companies).
