Entrepreneurs seek tax breaks from Osborne
NORTH West entrepreneurs are calling on the new Chancellor to honour his pledge of tax breaks for businesses in next month’s emergency budget.
A survey by Manchester law firm Pannone, in conjunction with TheBusinessDesk.com and accountancy firm Montpelier Chartered Accountants, found that 56% of the region’s entrepreneurs believe tax breaks should be at the top of George Osborne’s budget agenda.
More than 30% are calling for a reduction in red tape, which 14% believe the key issue to be addressed is access to finance.
Since moving into Number 11, Mr Osborne has reaffirmed his intention to cut corporation tax, saying he wanted “Britain to be open for business again”.
He has also confirmed that Labour’s plans to increase National Insurance for employers would be scrapped in the budget.
The survey – conducted last week at an Entrepreneurial Services seminar in Manchester last week – found that cash flow and late payment are still the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs’ firms.
Almost one in three – 32% – admitted that they had been forced to make redundancies in order to survive the recession, while surprisingly just 5% have diversified new markets.
The study also revealed a renewed optimism among North West business bosses, with 60% of those surveyed saying they had fared better than expected over the last six months, while only 5% said their business has performed worst than predicted.
Looking forward, 39% said they are ‘very optimistic’ about the remainder of 2010, more than half – 56% – described themselves as ‘cautiously optimistic’, while less than 5% said they were not at all optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year.
Kay Kennedy, head of entrepreneurial Services at Pannone, said: “While it is encouraging that there is a mood of optimism among the region’s entrepreneurs, there is still capital inadequacy and the recovery remains fragile.
“Therefore it is imperative that the Chancellor eases the tax burden on businesses and introduces measures to boost enterprise, as it is we are going to have to place heavy reliance on investment by our existing entrepreneurs.”
Robert Jackson, chief executive of Montpelier Chartered Accountants, added: “The Government needs to pump oxygen into SMEs, not suffocate their working capital by over-taxing them.
“The region is climbing out of recession and the Government needs to provide policies that continue to push entrepreneurs along the road to recovery and growth.”
