HMRC got a lot of stick for their actions in respect of the Honest Burgers chain a couple of months ago, but you can actually look at it another way and say they did a good job.
Honest Burgers had a Time To Pay arrangement to pay their taxes over an extended period of time. They were negotiating to extend that, but talks fell through, and HMRC issued a winding-up petition in order to force Honest Burgers to pay up in full, the alternative being compulsory liquidation. They received payment in full two days later.
It seems like the general reaction to this was surprise at HMRC’s sudden action. However - Honest Burgers had the money! They just wanted to use it for something else for the time being. Maybe we should give HMRC a pat on the back for this one, for making sure they fund their business from commercial sources, not from hanging on to taxpayers’ money.
Comments