The number of people fined for paying their self-assessment tax bills late has risen by 14 percent in the last year, says business advisory firm Moore Stephens.

In the 2016/17 tax year (latest available data) 331,000 were fined, compared with 291,000 the previous year, the firm discovered via a freedom of information request.

The increase in the number of fines for late payment is due partially to the growing number of people completing self-assessment returns, as self-employed individuals reached a record high of 4.93 million in March 2019 according to ONS figures.

Fines for those who pay late can be substant...