Only a fraction of those eligible for the government's small business rate
tax relief scheme have taken up the opportunity, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Stephen Alambritis, from the FSB, told the Telegraph that the
tax should be deducted automatically by local government instead of the current system that forces businesses to make claims.
A recent FSB survey found that in Essex only 13,426 of 19,826 firms eligible for
tax relief has actually done so.
It is estimated that up to £200 million has been unclaimed by eligible businesses since the scheme was introduced in 2005.
Mr Alambritis told the newspaper: "Given the credit crunch, we believe that there's an onus on all government agencies that collect money from small businesses to highlight any opportunity for small businesses not to pay so much [
tax]."
The Telegraph recently reported that Brit Insurance had hired Ernst & Young to advise on a number of
tax issues relating to the firm.
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