Federation of Small Businesses - Pre-Budget Report is an absolute stinker for small businesses

Week 41 of 2007 Friday 12 October 2007

In this week’s issue: PBR shocker; supplementary business rates; postal strikes drag on; ID fraud warning; small business banking; health and safety; business support; hazardous waste.

1. Pre-Budget Report is an absolute stinker for small businesses
The pressure is mounting on Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to make revisions to Tuesday’s lamentable Pre-Budget Report (PBR), which dealt a devastating blow to small businesses and entrepreneurs. The abolition of taper relief for capital gains tax (CGT) drew a vociferous response from the FSB and other business organizations. From April 2008 small business owners will no longer get the taper relief to bring their CGT liability to 10% when they sell business assets. Instead they will have to pay a new flat rate of CGT at 18% - a massive 80% increase. The FSB is positively seething and the media have been sympathetic to the cause. The Daily Telegraph’s leader column on Thursday was all about the FSB’s response to the PBR and the Financial Times ran the following headline this morning: “Business in a fury over impact of tax reform”. Additional media coverage for the FSB on the issue included: The Independent (twice); the Financial Times (again), The Times, the Daily Mail (twice), the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph (again), BBC News 24 (twice); BBC Radio 5 Live. All is not necessarily lost on this issue either: the FSB is urging its members to sign the online petition that is on the Number 10 website. Details here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveCGTrelief/

2. Supplementary Business Rates get the go-ahead
The Chancellor used the PBR to announce the introduction of Supplementary Business Rates, a policy that the FSB has always opposed. There was a silver lining to this particular cloud, however, in the form of an exemption for businesses with rateable values below £50,000. The FSB held a meeting in the House of Commons on Thursday with other business organisations to discuss the issue. Roger Culcheth, FSB Local Government Chairman, led the FSB’s contribution. The meeting was chaired by Richard Tyler, the Daily Telegraph’s Enterprise Editor, and attended by the Financial Times’ Business Editor John Willman. Consequently, both newspapers covered the story the next day along with The Times and The Guardian. More info on business rates generally can be found right here: www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk

3. Postal strikes take their toll
The disruption to postal services shows no signs of abating, with new strikes called for the beginning of next week. The Daily Express expressed (geddit?) it’s condolences to the small business community in a leader article on Thursday and Simon Briault, FSB spokesman, was quoted in the Financial Times. The Times and the Daily Mail also covered the FSB’s postal views this week.

4. ID fraud warning
Amid all the talk of Darling’s clumsiness, postal strife and increased business rates, one might think the FSB’s annual campaign to warn of the dangers of corporate identity fraud would get drowned out. Not so. The Daily Express this week covered the FSB’s support of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week. More info here: www.stop-idfraud.co.uk.

5. FSB seeks reversal of provisional banking decision
The FSB’s campaign to get the Competition Commission to reverse its bewildering decision to let banks of the hook over price controls made it into the Financial Times this week.

6. Health and Safety report still making the news
The FSB’s influential Health and Safety Report and the campaign to highlight the 28 hours per month that small business spends dealing with red tape are still making the news – the Financial Times to be precise. Tina Sommer, FSB EU and International Affairs Chairman, said: “There is no doubt that the volume and complexity of red tape is excessive. Shorter, simpler regulations will enable businesses to follow the rules more easily as well as protect their existing employees.”

7. Business support under fire
The FSB was quoted in the Financial Times (for the zillionth time this week!) about business support and the bewilderment felt by small businesses by having to deal with thousands of separate support bodies.

8. New waste rules on the horizon
The end of the month will see the introduction of new hazardous waste rules, which will apply to small businesses. More information here: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/landfilldirective.