Sunday, April 3, 2022

Britain: "April cost hike storm to push businesses ‘to the brink"

From City AM, March 31:

A series of cost hits and fresh admin requirements landing in April threaten to push UK business “to the brink”, reveals fresh research published today.

Several support packages put in place to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on firms end today and over the course of the next month, just as companies are still repairing their balance sheets.

Firms will be expected to pay all deferred VAT payments under a relief scheme set up to offset the impact of the Covid-19 crisis from today.

From tomorrow, hospitality businesses’ VAT bills will revert to pre-pandemic levels after the temporary 12.5 per cent rate ends. 

Meanwhile, all companies will need to return their VAT statement through the government’s new making tax digital scheme, increasing businesses’ tax compliance costs.

Although the UK economy has rebounded sharply from the pandemic, businesses have yet to fully shake off the damage inflicted on them.

Around 250,000 firms are concerned they will collapse soon, according to the Office for National Statistics....

....MORE

And the hits just keep on coming. I don't care who you are, losing a quarter-million businesses, even if they are sole proprietorships, is a whack.