A
new survey has found the United Kingdom to be top in the
'VAT-friendliness' league.
The
investigation by KPMG International studied which countries
people had the most difficulty with doing business in, from
a tax
perspective.
Results showed the UK came out top, with ten per cent of
respondents saying business transactions were easy. Italy
was named most difficult to do business in.
Head of indirect tax
at KPMG in the UK, Gary Harley, said that the high scores
for the UK are due to the tax authorities'
"understanding" approach to dealing with VAT
errors.
Mr Harley warned that a new stricter penalty regime, that
will be applied to VAT returns from April next year, could
change the ease with which people find doing business in the
UK.
"Given the likelihood of increased penalties in the UK
and the global concerns over VAT compliance, minimising the
risk of VAT errors needs to be a priority for British
businesses," added Mr Harley
According to a report in The Times, some of Britain's
biggest companies paid little or no corporation tax
in Britain in 2007.
Research by the newspaper showed that three FTSE-100
companies paid zero corporation tax last year as they earned
the bulk of profits overseas, allowing them to offset these
against domestic tax liabilities.
