Pictured: Andy McQuillan 

Dains, Midlands based Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers are warning that the Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) which was introduced in November 2008 to help taxpayers, both individuals and business owners, who are having difficulty paying their tax on time, is now winding down. 

Andy McQuillan, Tax Partner at Dains said: "The scheme is still running and if the taxpayer agrees on a Time to Pay (TTP) plan and keeps to the agreement, HMRC will waive penalties and surcharges, although there will still be late payment interest charged. So far, 61 per cent of the total numbers of arrangements have been for a period of three months or fewer.

"However, demand for TTP arrangements appears to be dwindling and some 23,300 - have recently been refused by HMRC. This may be due to the fact that the proportion of repeat requests is growing."

HMRC has indicated that if a business makes a repeat request it will be scrutinised more closely to ensure that it is not actually in a position to pay or to check that it is a viable enterprise. If the taxman feels that giving further time to pay would put the owed tax at risk, then it will probably refuse the request.

For more information please contact Andy McQuillan on 0845 555 8844 or email tax@dains.com.

For more information on Dains, please visit their website here: www.dains.com