More than 600,000 of Britain's small business bosses have suffered panic attacks due to the stress of trying to complete their tax returns, new research from Sage suggests. The poll found more than one in 10 bosses (11%) endured the attacks while one in five (20%) battle sleepless nights and 17% miss family time.
The research by accountancy tech leaders Sage involved more than 1,000 small business owners, and also shows they are being caught out by tax jargon. Nearly half (42%) said they wouldn’t be able to explain MTD (Making Tax Digital) or ITSA (Income Tax Self-Assessment) (44%) to somebody else, while almost one in five (18%) would struggle to define PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and the difference between minimum wage and living wage (22%).
Government figures show there are currently 5.5 million small businesses in the UK. The number of new businesses created last year surged to a record high of 810,316, suggesting many bosses due to file returns in January will be doing so for the first time, while established businesses are having to get to grips with the switch to Making Tax Digital.
