Half of all deferred business taxes are VAT

Value added tax makes up 42% of business taxes deferred under agreements struck with the Business Payment Support Service.

A total of £2.5bn in tax payments have been deferred by 141,000 struggling businesses, Business Credit Management reports.

The BPSS was set up by the Chancellor in the pre-Budget report to stop cash-strapped businesses from going under in the recession.

Firms can also request a deferral of PAYE and NIC payments, and are typically granted repayment extensions of between three and six months.

The deferred VAT makes up 1.5% of the total predicted VAT take of £64bn for 2009-10.