Politicians are often accused of using words rather than actions, but SME owners might be able to take some comfort from recent whisperings of matters likely to form part of Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, which will be given on December 3rd.
Cable makes tax cut connection
Business Secretary Vince Cable was tight lipped when recently quizzed about the possibility of business tax rebates. Commenting that he was hoping something would come to fruition during September’s conferences, he did nonetheless suggest that the December statement might feature something “positive in the pipeline” on this front.
What this specifically means is unknown, but it’s likely to have something to do with those companies investing in the high street and the planned rates hike in April 2014.
With business rates a big talking point among SMEs, Osborne has pledged to review them by 2017. Should the Labour Party win the election next May, however, its leader Ed Miliband has vowed to do away with the April raise, keeping rates at 2014’s level for at least another year.
It does suggest that MPs are aware, at least, of the tax challenges facing UK companies and are keen to preserve the country’s rich scene of thriving business and entrepreneurship.
A look at last year
Similarly, Osborne’s speech in 2013 was one laden with good intentions. He spoke of doubling the finances available to support businesses in Britain. Part of this has been through the ‘Britain is GREAT’ campaign, which has been beneficial to companies looking to branch out overseas.
Another aim was to increase the number of startups launched by 50,000 on last year’s figure of 502,000 by making loans more readily available.
According to StartupBritain.co, this aim is well on track too; as of October 10th, 455,364 startups have been established in 2014. With around a quarter of the year still to go, this figure will end up about the 600,000 mark should it keep rising at the same rate.
At Sollertia, we always like to keep our ears to the ground for the latest business announcements. As a business ourselves, they affect us too, but they also help us to understand our clients’ concerns and obstacles. Remember, however, that by outsourcing accounts to a specialist like us, you can sidestep much of the complex world of tax and put more time and money into growing your business.