Tax is a burden for small businesses

Date: 3rd November 2009

The UK is lagging behind its global peers by remaining in recession, a new report has revealed.

A study undertaken by ContractorCalculator to mark the tenth anniversary of IR35 showed that the UK's slow return to economic growth is partly due to the amount of legislation and taxation levied upon businesses.

However, smaller firms have managed to grow despite laws such as IR35 being in place.

Dave Chaplin, chief executive officer at Contractor Calculator, said that before IR35 was implemented the sense of identity for contractors working as sole traders and through limited companies was less cohesive than it is now.

"When the government introduced this poorly thought-through and appallingly implemented piece of legislation, with no genuine consultation or impact assessment, contractors for the first time banded together to fight the assault on their livelihoods."

Previous research from the Confederation of British Industry showed that confidence among small businesses has reached its highest point for two years.