Firms struggling with cash flow to benefit from tax payment extensions

Stephen Herring, Senior Tax Partner at BDO, comments:  “Certain businesses facing cash-flow difficulties may benefit from the announced extension to the Business Payment Support Service.  This allows those businesses that were previously tax paying, but now anticipate making a loss in the current period, to agree extensions to tax payment dates where they are temporarily financially challenged. 

“There is still a need for the taxpayer, or their advisors, to satisfy HMRC that the business is forecasting a loss and does not have access to cash or bank borrowings, and the relief only relates to those tax payments not yet made, ie this will not typically allow businesses to reclaim tax already paid.  Whilst this service focuses primarily on payments of Income Tax or Corporation Tax, HMRC is also willing to agree a time to pay arrangement for other taxes such as VAT or PAYE.”

-Ends-

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http://www.bdo.uk.com/services/tax-services/budget-2009.html

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Notes to editors:

BDO LLP operates across the UK with over 3,000 partners and staff. BDO LLP is a UK limited liability partnership and the UK Member Firm of BDO International. BDO international is a world-wide network of public accounting firms, called BDO Member Firms. Each BDO Member Firm is an independent legal entity in its own country. The network is coordinated by BDO Global Coordination B.V., incorporated in The Netherlands, with its statutory seat in Eindhoven (trade register registration number 33205251) and with an office at Boulevard de la Woluwe 60, 1200 Brussels, Belgium, where the International Executive Office is located. In the UK the Belfast Firm is operated by a separate Partnership known as BDO - Belfast.

BDO LLP and BDO - Belfast are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority to conduct investment business.

BDO is an award winning firm.  Recent achievements include:

Best Workplace UK - Financial Times 2008
Audit Team of the Year – Accountancy Age Awards 2008
Tax Team of the Year – Accountancy Age Awards 2008
Corporate Finance Deal of the Year – Accountancy Age Awards 2008
100 Best Companies to Work For - The Sunday Times 2008
The Women of Achievement Award –  Women in the City 2008
Business Superbrand - Business Superbrands 2008