Punishingly Complex Tax System

The British ‘Punishingly Complex’ Tax System

The punishingly complex tax system – Grant Thornton has joined the signatories of business leaders who have written to The Times arguing that the tax system is “punishingly complex”.

The letter states that the tax system is “out of kilter with modern economy” and is one of the reasons why start-ups struggle because it hinders growth and trust “through unnecessary complexity or perceived unfairness”.

In the letter, the business leaders suggest the vote to leave the EU presents an opportunity for change. Grant Thornton were joined in criticising the tax system as a “daunting labyrinth” by a group of entrepreneurs, including Luke Johnson, the venture capital investor who built up Pizza Express. Source: AccountingWeb.co.uk

HM Revenue & Customs

The Punishingly Complex Tax System

The Times also posted this snippet at just after midnight today:

The punishingly complex tax system is holding back private companies, according to the Institute of Directors and a group of entrepreneurs, investors and accountants.

In a letter to The Times, business leaders say that Britain’s tax system “does not sufficiently distinguish between [small and medium-sized businesses] and multinationals or recognise the impact of small businesses on job creation”.

They call for significant changes in the autumn statement next month to corporation tax, business rates and tax reliefs for private companies.


So let’s see what will happen, what the response will be from the Autumn Statement and whether the ‘Punishingly Complex’ Tax System can be simplified, adapted and modernised to suit current times and businesses. We appreciate that it is not a quick fix to update and simplify the tax system but as so many business leaders are calling for change, whether a response will start the ball rolling. Let’s make some changes Britain and it seems that this is a great opportunity to deal with this as a starting point.