Hard Winter

A SMALL business expert has written about the tough times predicted for owners of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) such as garages throughout 2011. These factors include increased costs and late payment.

In a New Year statement, Forum for Private Business chief exec Phil Orford warns that the Government must fulfil its pledges to cut red tape in the workplace if it wants smaller businesses to replace the jobs set to be lost in the public sector, adding that a ‘long-overdue’ simplification of the tax system would also encourage more companies to expand.

Curiously, the statement makes little mention of the VAT rate increase, which came into effect on January 4th.

The statement reads: “Removing the barriers to growth created by tax and red tape must be a cornerstone of emerging enterprise policies. We are pushing for the UK’s complex tax system to be simplified and complying with regulation to be made more proportionate for small firms.
“Employment law, in particular, must cease to be a barrier to job creation and should be rebalanced more in favour of employers – and the majority of the workforce – not just individual employees.
“Simplifying employment law would go a long way towards empowering entrepreneurs to create jobs to grow their businesses, but there is a need to address workforce training and skills.