Private business wants fairer Budget
FAIRER and simpler tax measures, improved payment practice, a reduction in red tape and a realistic minimum wage increase are on the Budget wish list of the Forum for Private Business.
The national business organisation has issued its calls in its Budget Submission ahead of the big day on March 18.
Acknowledging the continued need for austerity, taxation concessions and changes form a key part of the Forum’s submission, but its membership is also asking for a system which ensures larger businesses are seen to pay their fair share of taxes.
They include: Continued steps to close tax loopholes and assessing whether the largest companies in the UK pay a reasonable level of taxation; the introduction of the compulsory of tax records of the leading companies; measures to limit the influence of companies that use artificial tax avoidance methods; a reversal of the decision to authorise HMRC to directly debit bank accounts of small businesses; the introduction recommendations from the Office of Tax Simplification and the introduction of tax incentives for SME exporters.
Forum members are also calling for further moves to introduce better payment practices in the public sector with the automatic addition of late payment charges and administrative costs to council supplier invoices and further moves to introduce e-invoicing across the public sector.
With red tape and regulation costing UK’s 1.2mn SME employers an estimated £19.1 bn last year, the Forum’s submission contains continued calls to actively help reduce this burden through a range of measures including: Increased support from government bodies to help reduce the administrative time burden for small businesses; financial support for small businesses to offer shared parental leave and to continue with short-term reforms of business rates and hold the planned re-evaluation before 2017.
Chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, Phil Orford said: “Despite the strong recovery, early 2015 remains an uncertain time of many of our members who are finding it difficult to develop firm plans ahead of May’s General Election and the prospect of an EU referendum.
“With austerity remaining a key priority for the Coalition, we feel that the Chancellor (George Osborne) needs to be able to use taxation as a way to influence better business practice in the UK, ensuring that all businesses pay their fair dues and that the system doesn’t unfairly target many of the small to medium-sized firms that form the backbone of the UK economy.
“Our members welcomed the measure to mitigate the rising costs of businesses rates, but a fundamental review is needed sooner rather than later. The government should bring forward the proposed review to after the election, a commitment we would also like to see in all the main parties’ manifestos.”
“We would also like to see continued measures to reduce the cost of compliance for small businesses.”
