It's been around 3 years since the credit crunch kicked off and the business community has been given nearly no headlines since that time.
Yes, the bankers have had all the press (mostly negative) but what about the people running small businesses across the country and how they've been affected by all of this? Well let's start with some useful facts:
The Conservatives and the Labour lot were ranting on about supporting small businesses when they needed votes.
But little seems to have been done since the general election.
George Osborne told us that the tide of new business regulation would be slowed.
However, the EU keeps chucking out business regulation faster than ever.
He also told us that they'd lean on the banks to get business-friendly credit facilities back on track.
But surveys still say that banks are being more frugal than ever and/or are lending at outrageous and unaffordable interest rates (at a time when the BoE interest rate is still incredibly low).
David Cameron promised to begin cutting red tape for small businesses if elected but has been rather elusive on the topic since.
According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), some owners of small businesses work as many at 70 hours a month just complying with business regulations.
What's more, since 1997 the size of the tax legislation in the UK has nearly doubled.
This has enabled big businesses to employ armies of tax specialists to take advantage of the many loopholes that have arisen as a result of the increased complexity.
Many large businesses, especially banks, pay corporation tax in the low single figures ( http://www.
guardian.
co.
uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/19/taxavoidance-barclay ).
So here's a few ideas for the government if they really want to support and encourage small businesses:
If business owners went en-masse to see MP's or got involved in campaining against politicians who make it hard to create jobs then they would have to act.
Collectively the small business community could exert more influence than any lobbying organisation ever seen in the UK.
The FSB has more than 200,000members and is the UK's most successful lobbying organisation on behalf of businesses but they need more pro-action from those in small businesses.
If you run a small business then it could be time to act.
Yes, the bankers have had all the press (mostly negative) but what about the people running small businesses across the country and how they've been affected by all of this? Well let's start with some useful facts:
- Over 90% of businessesin this country fall into the 'small business' category.
- Nearly 60% of UK GDP comes from the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) sector.
- Over half of the UK workforce is employed by a small or medium size business.
The Conservatives and the Labour lot were ranting on about supporting small businesses when they needed votes.
But little seems to have been done since the general election.
George Osborne told us that the tide of new business regulation would be slowed.
However, the EU keeps chucking out business regulation faster than ever.
He also told us that they'd lean on the banks to get business-friendly credit facilities back on track.
But surveys still say that banks are being more frugal than ever and/or are lending at outrageous and unaffordable interest rates (at a time when the BoE interest rate is still incredibly low).
David Cameron promised to begin cutting red tape for small businesses if elected but has been rather elusive on the topic since.
According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), some owners of small businesses work as many at 70 hours a month just complying with business regulations.
What's more, since 1997 the size of the tax legislation in the UK has nearly doubled.
This has enabled big businesses to employ armies of tax specialists to take advantage of the many loopholes that have arisen as a result of the increased complexity.
Many large businesses, especially banks, pay corporation tax in the low single figures ( http://www.
guardian.
co.
uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/19/taxavoidance-barclay ).
So here's a few ideas for the government if they really want to support and encourage small businesses:
- Cut red tape.
If someone at the top of a small business spends hours just doing compliance work then they're not generating as much business as they could.
This is counter-productive to economic growth. - Simplify the business tax code.
This will increase tax revenue and will begin to put all businesses onto a level playing field. - Give sympathetic tax rates and regulatory frameworks to startups.
This will encourage entrepreneurs to take business risks and help people to see some financial benefits in self-employment. - Introduce EU regulation and legislation at the same pace as the French or the Italians (whichever is slowest).
The French government implements EU law only when they absolutely have to, especially if the new laws are unfavourable or potentially detrimental to France in some way. - Set up a not-for-profit Post Office bank.
This will give individuals and small businesses access to banking facilities that would not be driven by the need to maintain market value or to appease shareholders.
I know the commercial banks will whine about unfair competition but in Britain the banks enjoy an oligopoly anyway so proper competition is almost non existent.
If business owners went en-masse to see MP's or got involved in campaining against politicians who make it hard to create jobs then they would have to act.
Collectively the small business community could exert more influence than any lobbying organisation ever seen in the UK.
The FSB has more than 200,000members and is the UK's most successful lobbying organisation on behalf of businesses but they need more pro-action from those in small businesses.
If you run a small business then it could be time to act.
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