IMN Content - Lifestyle and Consumer Content

Emergency Budget Set to Aggravate Admin Burden for Local Businesses

Many experts predict that the new coalition government’s emergency budget could increase VAT to a record high of 20%.
Finance - 26 May 2010   Download IconContent available for download:  
Audio | Interview with Catherine Harrell| Login to Download

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.
  News Hooks:

Research revealed that a third of small businesses would call for a permanent reduction of the VAT rate to 15% to benefit their business. Despite this, in just under a month the new coalition government will be announcing their emergency budget and many experts predict that VAT may increase to a record high of 20%.

While a rise in VAT would provide quick relief to the UK deficit, there are concerns that it will become a significant administrative burden for small business and entrepreneurs.

According to research commissioned by Intuit a third of British people want to, or have already started their own businesses. The research shows that the recession has had a damaging effect on Entrepreneurial confidence with 40% of aspiring Alan Sugar's delaying their plans due to the economic climate.

. Introduction:

This week is European SME Week and with many countries throughout Europe facing massive public debts, austerity plans are being implemented to avoid bankruptcy. In this context, smaller businesses have been putting their own measures in place to ensure they continue to survive and be successful. In the UK an emergency budget is looming, and entrepreneurs can be sure of yet more changes that will affect them and could add to the administrative headache that they already face.

So how can small businesses in Britain be better supported?

Joining us in the studio is Catherine Harrell, Small Business Specialist at Intuit UK.

. Suggested Questions:

What does the latest research show about the issues facing small businesses in our area?

How will the new coalition government affect local businesses?

What changes are we expecting to happen to VAT and how will this affect local businesses?

How can small businesses keep up with all the changes?

What advice would you give someone thinking about setting up their own business?

Where can we find out more information?