10 policies for UK economic growth
Conservative MP for Dover and Deal Charlie Elphicke has set out 10 policies he wants to see introduced in the Budget to boost growth.
For supporting larger businesses he suggests:
- Reducing the main rate of corporation tax to 19 per cent;
- Abolishing stamp duty on share transactions;
- Making changes so the UK becomes the corporate headquarter centre of Europe, including a tax rule to say foreign profits or interest payments brought into the UK by subsidiary business will not be taxed or deemed to be brought into the UK and taxed if held overseas.
For smaller businesses he suggests:
- Reforming UK trade and investment to enable SMEs to expand overseas more rapidly;
- Floating the smaller businesses growth fund on the London Stock Exchange;
- Lower capital gains for business assets or expansion of entrepreneur’s relief;
- Expanding specific reliefs for entrepreneurs and small business investors
The changes he recommends for regulatory reform are:
- The extension of the new enterprise allowance;
- The creation of transition enterprise zones;
- Less stringent employment law, including capping maximum compensation claims at the level of average earnings.
Source: http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk
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UK sets out proposals for single competition body
Britain has set out proposals to create a single competition authority, saying it would reduce delay and end duplication for business, and introduce an exemption for small deals from the merger control regime.
The 10-month-old coalition Conservative-Liberal Democrat government, planning to merge the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading with the Competition Commission, opened a three-month consultation period on Wednesday.
Business secretary Vince Cable said consultation on the competition framework was a fundamental part of the government’s growth agenda
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/britain-competition-idUSLDE72F0YJ20110316
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Business Link: Checklist of April Regulation Changes
Small businesses can check how to comply with regulation changes coming in on 6 April, following the publication of an online guide by Business Link.
Most laws that affect businesses are implemented on one of two common commencement dates (CCDs) — 6 April and 1 October. The April 2011 CCD will bring with it several reforms that small firms must comply with, and Business Link has published a summary.
The changes will include:
- A lower rate of corporation tax — the main rate will fall from 28 to 27 per cent, and the small business rate from 21 to 20 per cent.
- Payment of corporation tax must be made electronically from 1 April 2011.
- Additional paternity leave and pay — eligible partners of those due to give birth or adopt on or after 3 April will gain the right to additional paternity leave and pay.
- The right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of all children under 18.
- Positive action in recruitment
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Startups to be exempt from employment red tape
Startups with fewer than ten employees will be exempt from new employment regulations for the next three years, Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk is set to announce.
Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk will deliver a major speech at the Federation of Small Business’s annual conference, in which he is due to announce that regulatory demands emanating from Whitehall will be eased.
Prisk is expected to announce that startups with fewer than ten employees will be exempt from new employment regulations for the next three years, and that the government will repeal laws allowing parents with children below the age of 17 the right to request flexible working hours.
Additionally, firms employing fewer than 250 people will not be requried to provide training outside work.
Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/hr/startups_to_be_exempt_from_employment_red_tape
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UK To Face Subdued Growth
Economic growth will be subdued this year and next in the United Kingdom, but the government must continue its difficult fiscal consolidation and structural reform programmes to return the economy to a sustainable path, according to the OECD’s latest UK Economic Survey.
Spending cuts will curb government consumption, investment and household income growth over the 2011-12 period, but will bring long-term gain. The OECD says that pushing through key reforms will address fiscal sustainability concerns and help bring about a long-term rebalancing of the UK economy.
Fiscal consolidation should be adjusted to better support growth. Economic recovery and job creation would both benefit from smaller-than-planned cuts in public investment. Such reforms should be financed through improvements to the efficiency of Value Added Tax, including ending exemptions and bringing lowered rates up.
Read full article and report here: http://www.oecd.org/document/21/0,3746,en_2649_37443_47348373_1_1_1_37443,00.html
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Government disagrees with itself on the impact of Business Link’s closure
NFEA, which represents local enterprise agencies, made the claim ahead of the winding down of the local elements of government-backed Business Link services which will be replaced by the main national Business Link website and a call centre.
The group pointed to research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in November 2010 which concluded: “A reduction in the availability of Business Link’s face to face service could result in a lower take-up of external advice, and confusion remains about which sources of advice to trust.
“Start-ups and new businesses will be particularly affected as they are the least likely to know what support they need, the least able to find or trust appropriate support and the least able and willing to pay for this support.”
The study also found that for many entrepreneurs, the Business Link website complements, rather than substitutes for, telephone and face-to-face support, is not a key route to face to face support and is ”barely looked at” by many company owners before getting in touch for advice.
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Where are all the British billionaires?
Forbes released its annual World Billionaires rich list earlier this month. Topped by Mexico’s Carlos Slim, whose $74bn fortune put him way ahead of Microsoft’s Bill Gates (number two on the list at $56bn) the list is an impressive who’s-who of the world’s rich.
Perennial Forbes Top 10-er Warren Buffett appears at number three with $50bn of worth, while the world’s richest woman, Christy Walton of the Walmart empire, comes in at number ten.
But, hold on… where are all the Brits?
Sadly for HM Queen, none of her subjects appear until number 57 on the list, when Gerald Grosvenor and family make an appearance with their $13bn of real estate.
While American entrepreneurs feature strongly throughout the 1,210-strong list, British entrepreneurs are notably absent. The Reuben brothers are there (ranked 114th with $8bn) and so is Sir Philip Green (132nd, $7.2bn).
Other notable Brits include Bernie Ecclestone (=254th, $4.2bn), Richard Branson (=254th, $4.2bn), James Dyson (420th, $2.7bn) and John Caudwell (651st, $1.9bn). Even JK Rowling slipped onto the list, with her $1bn Harry Potter fortune.
Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/jason_hesse/where_are_all_the_british_billionaires
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New entrepreneur training programme launches
A new programme, the New Entrepreneurs Foundation, has launched, giving young people the opportunity to spend a year working alongside top entrepreneurs.
The programme, New Entrepreneurs Foundation, is backed by heavyweight UK entrepreneurs including Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of Invensys and BAA; Lord Davies, a former trade minister; and Oliver Pawle, chairman at Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann.
The New Entrepreneurs Foundation programme will run from September 2011, and is looking for 25 “highly motivated and business-minded young people who have the potential to create and run new market leading businesses”.
Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/management/new_entrepreneur_training_programme_launches
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Chancellor urged to merge income tax and NICs
An interim report looking at small business taxation has been published by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), calling for a merger between the income tax and national insurance systems.
The provisional recomendations are made with a view of simplifying administrative burdens on SMEs. “The overwhelming conclusion is that genuine and long lasting simplification can only be brought about through major structural changes to the UK tax system,” says the report.
The headline measure proposed by the OTS is to merge income tax with national insurance. “The integration of income tax and national insurance, including reducing the differential between rates applicable to different incomes and legal forms could, for example, remove much of the pressure on the employment and self-employment boundary and should result in the IR35 legislation becoming obsolete.”
Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance/chancellor_urged_to_merge_income_tax_and_nics
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Volatile economy remains UK business’ biggest threat
Over half of British SME owners see tough economic conditions as the main threat to their business continuing for the next two years, according to Scottish Provident’s Business Protection report.
According to the survey, the second biggest threat to SMEs (small to medium enterprises) (20%) between now and 2013 is the impact of climate change on the environment. Just one in ten view cash flow issues such as late payments as their biggest threat to survival, while just one in a hundred SME owners see red tape as their biggest burden.
While SME owners are most worried by these external threats, some realise there are also internal threats which could cause problems. Over one in five believe that there is a fairly high chance (at least one in three) of losing one of their key employees to a serious illness before retirement which will keep them off work for six months or more, showing that the threat of losing a key worker is a worry for many firms.
Read full article: http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/news.php?CID=&NID=7668&Title=Volatile+economy+remains+UK+business’+biggest+threat
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