HMRC eases pressure on £5bn worth of tax payments

Contractors working as sole traders or limited companies in the UK could be among those who are benefiting from more than £5 billion worth of government tax arrangements.

Recently-published figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have revealed that more than 160,000 enterprises have benefited from the government's Time to Pay scheme over the last 15 months.

The project was designed to help those who have foreseen that they may have difficulty meeting their upcoming tax payments.

So far HMRC has agreed £5.13 billion worth of deals which will see a number of enterprises paying their outstanding tax over an agreed time period.

Stephen Timms, financial secretary to the Treasury said: "It is excellent news that the Business Payment Support Service continues to provide much needed help … with over £5 billion now rescheduled and over 160,000 businesses helped and a very high level of payment, in line with the agreements reached."

Brookson Managing Director, Martin Hesketh, commented: "At Brookson we designed our service to take away the worry of budgeting for tax liabilities, we regularly advise our customers of how much to keep aside to pay their tax bills.

"We do understand that some struggle to make tax payments due to unforeseen circumstances and therefore if paying tax on time is proving difficult taking advantage of the Business Payment Support Service, offered by HMRC, could provide vital assistance and result in the avoidance of penalties and the stress that comes with owing money to the tax man."