August 26, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 9:02 pm
The Federation of Small Business announced that they that believe micro businesses should not be included in the new automatic pension’s scheme that will roll out in 2012. According to the FSB, automatic enrolment in the scheme would be an administrative and financial problem for firms that d not have more than ten employees.
Mike Cherry, the FSB Chairman, stated that the FSB welcomes initiatives from the government designed to help people who want to plan for their future retirement with a pension, but are concerned with automatic enrolment since it will be costly both in terms of money and time for smaller firms.
The FSB also has concerns over the expertise that is required in order to guide employees towards the right pensions with the changes that are poised to take place. In a survey conducted by the FSB, they found that about 70% of all small business owners were not confident that they could choose the best pension for their employees.
In place of the automatic enrolment scheme for small businesses, the FSB has proposed that a default scheme be developed in which employees that have a pension provision or no other savings could be placed into so that money would be safely placed in low risk funds.
Cherry added that small business owners are uncomfortable with choosing a pension scheme because of the complicated nature of the task and they are disappointed that a solution for small firms has not yet been developed by the pensions industry.
July 23, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 8:03 pm
A survey that included 1,200 members of the FSB showed that only four percent expect that its trading prospects will improve during the third quarter of 2010, which is much less than the 16% that believed there would be an increase in the third quarter in March.
The FSB survey suggested that it may still be quite some time before recovery is complete according to a statement from the group which means that the Government still needs to encourage SMEs to hire more staff and grow.
FSB national chairman, John Walker, stated that it is expected that 600,000 public sector jobs will be lost which will stimulate the need for new private sector jobs and even more so within small firms in order for the economy to get rebalanced.
In response to this problem, the FSB is asking for new businesses to be given National Insurance Contributions holiday and extend it to companies and businesses located across the UK.
Walker stated that the policy is supported by the FSB; they simply believe that it should help out existing businesses and be applicable across the UK.
The scheme lets new start-up businesses avoid the £5,000 fee of national insurance payments for the first ten employees that they hire within their first year of trading. It does not currently include businesses that are located in London, the south east, and the east.
Senior economist Charles Davis who helped produce the FSB report stated that the SME community seems to feel that a strong recovery is still far away and there are present business risks to growth in the future.
February 12, 2010
Filed under: General — Alan @ 7:01 am
The Conservative Party outlined plans for a new fairer taxation system this week if they are the winner of the 2010 general election. In response, the Federation of Small Business (FSB) is asking all of the political parties that are main contenders to outline their plans for SMEs before the General Election occur.
The FSB will hold its annual conference in March of this year in Aberdeen with speakers lined up from all of the prime political parties. On the list to speak will be Leader of the Liberal Democrats and current Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, Tory Leader David Cameron, and Nick Clegg. Shortly after the event the General Election will take place which should make it intriguing to see what the party leaders have in mind to say.
National Chairman of the FSB, John Wright, stated that the annual conference is designed to give SMEs the information that they will need to make an educated decision when they head to the polls so that they make a choice that will help them survive the year.
Wright continued to state that the lifeblood of the economy is small businesses and the FSB is making a strong effort so that the country can continue to rebound after the recession.
February 5, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 4:54 am
Suspending VAT increases and freezing NICS (National Insurance Contributors) may be the best way for the Government to help small firms advance out from under the recession according to the Federation of Small Business’ (FSB) 2010 Manifesto.
The launch of the Manifesto is set to correlate with the general election and includes many recommendations which the FSB believes will help small firms get better access to finance, set up new business, and create more jobs.
One of the vital proposals found within the Manifesto is a major overhaul of the current tax regime for payrolls that includes offering a tax rebate for firms that hire new staff members over the coming two years and a freeze on NICS.
A spokesperson for the FSB said that two areas that small firms need to concentrate on are access to finance and job creation opportunities. The spokesperson continued to say that small businesses hold the answer to ending the rising numbers of unemployment but NICS is a detriment that stops small firms from hiring more employers.
Additionally, the FSB also asked that finance be opened up to small firms from other atypical funding sources such as banks run by local councils. The need for such an institution is high according to the FSB since too many SMEs are still being refused proper funding and the banking sector needs more competition.
In response to the proposals, an official from the BIS (Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills) stated that the Government is aware of the importance of SMEs in economic recovery and that they will continue to support the small business sector.
