Small Businesses Regularly Struggle with Tax Regs and Code

A recent Sage North America study found that 74 percent of small businesses in the U.S. and 68 percent in Canada use outside accountant services, in part because of the complexity of regulations and the Tax Code.

The survey was conducted among 373 small businesses in the U.S. and 300 in Canada. The survey also found that 74 percent of U.S. and 80 percent of Canadian small businesses receive corporate tax services from their outside accountant, while 52 percent of U.S. and 53 percent of Canadian small businesses use their outside accountant for business tax compliance.

In addition, survey findings showed 62 of U.S. small businesses actively utilize the services of an outside accountant, up slightly from 60 percent last year, and 82 percent of Canadian small business owners utilize an outside accountant, up from 61 percent last year.

Last year, Sage’s Small Business Sentiment Survey showed that 49 percent of small businesses felt high taxes were one of their top three issues that would hinder growth, while 43 percent of small businesses surveyed said too many regulations would hinder growth. A similar survey in November 2012 found that 67 percent of small businesses were most concerned about taxes, and 48 percent were most concerned about regulations. In that same month, the Sage Canadian Small Business Financial Literacy Survey found that 34 percent of small business owners felt that dealing with taxes was a management weakness.

For more findings, see the Sage Accountants Usage Survey report and infographic.

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