Accountancy Age: Tim Stovold advises on how auto-deferred VAT can help businesses in need

The government’s deferred VAT scheme is proving to be a lifeline for many businesses even though they will still have to pay it at some point.

“The Coronavirus time-to-pay hotline, announced in the Spring Budget, was becoming overloaded with businesses ringing up to agree deferment of taxes with waiting times to speak to someone at HMRC creeping up to two hours,” says Tim Stovold, head of tax at Moore Kingston Smith.

“The automatic deferment of VAT payments without having to seek specific agreement from HMRC took some of the pressure off this hotline and freed up time for the individuals to focus on running their business rather than waiting on hold for HMRC to speak to them. There are a number of our clients, particularly those involved in e-commerce where their business has suffered no downturn, who are able to make the payment without any hardship so are just paying it as normal.”

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