Research and analysis

SME Longitudinal Ethnography

Ethnographic research with small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to understand how tax aligns with the day-to-day running of businesses.

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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned Ipsos to undertake qualitative, ethnographic research with small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to understand how tax aligned with the day-to-day running of businesses.  

Twenty SME owners and key-decision makers were interviewed, and provided self-recorded films to Ipsos over the course of 17 months, demonstrating their routines, opinions, decision making, and their working relationships. Findings from the research are illustrative, and not representative of the population. 

The views in this report are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of HMRC.

Updates to this page

Published 5 June 2025

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