Small firms should not see tax as a burden, but as a sign of success, one expert has claimed.
John de Groot, managing director of StartupCo, explained that firms usually only pay tax if they are making a profit.
He said: "One of the things that small businesses should probably be focusing on is paying more tax, because if they pay more tax they are actually making more profit."
Mr de Groot added that as individual firms cannot do much to influence government policy it is "not healthy" if they fixate on an issue they are unable to change.
His comments come after the 2006-07 Annual Small Business Survey revealed that 14 per cent of SMEs felt that regulation was their biggest obstacle, while a further 12 per cent of respondents felt it was taxation.
The government recently abolished capital gains tax taper relief, replacing it with a system of 'entrepreneur's relief'.
