FSB Archives - WRLO Accountants

Make Work Pay threatens employment and growth warns FSB

WRLO Accountants — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 18:07:03 +0000

The government’s Make Work Pay Bill lacks a pro-growth element and will increase economic inactivity, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. The business group says that the legislation, particularly around day one dismissal rights, risks deterring small employers from taking a chance on someone who has had a significant period out of the workplace, shutting those doors and deepening social exclusion It warns that the Bill is rushed and poorly planned while dropping 28 new measures onto small business employers all at once leaves them scrambling to make sense of it all. There are already 65,000 fewer payroll jobs since Labour took power, and the new government is sending out a ‘troubling signal to businesses and investors’, the FSB adds. Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair at the FSB, said: ‘The Chancellor has the opportunity to lead the way in adding a pro-business, pro-employment element to Make Work Pay in her upcoming Budget. This should include a rise in the Employment Allowance, pegging it to future rises in the National Living Wage. It should also include the reintroduction of the small business rebate for Statutory Sick Pay. ‘Sufficient time should be taken to avoid this becoming a hastily cobbled-together Act […]

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Relief at HMRC’s reversal of helpline closures

WRLO Accountants — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 08:15:03 +0000

HMRC’s decision to halt its plans to restrict taxpayer helplines and direct people to online services instead has been met with relief by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The tax authority had announced that it was closing its self assessment helpline for six months every year. It was also restricting the opening times of its VAT helpline and the usage of its PAYE helpline. HMRC says it is halting these plans ‘in response to the feedback while it engages with its stakeholders about how to ensure all taxpayers’ needs’. The FSB says that more investment in digital and telephone is needed – not a reduction in service. Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair, FSB said: ‘Small businesses will definitely be relieved that the drastic reduction in HMRC’s helpline opening hours has been paused. We are very glad that HMRC has listened to the chorus of dismay which greeted its initial announcement. ‘While online services are a key part of the communications mix for the tax authority, sometimes there’s just no substitute for a real human on the end of a phone line who can listen, engage, and help untangle issues. ‘Before phone line cuts are considered, HMRC needs to build capacity […]

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Raise VAT threshold to £100,000, says FSB

WRLO Accountants — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 09:30:58 +0000

The government should raise the turnover threshold for VAT from £85,000 to £100,000, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The business group said that this would give firms stepping into the VAT-paying ring crucial breathing space. It would also be an incentive to grow their turnover without fear of having to charge customers an extra 20% overnight, the FSB added. The FSB also suggested bringing in a smoothing mechanism to ease the transition for small firms, owner-managed companies and some of the self-employed who go just over the threshold. At the moment, thousands of small firms keep their turnover just below the £85,000 threshold, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR said that hundreds of millions of pounds of potential economic activity could be lost due to this ‘bunching’ just below the threshold. Tina McKenzie, FSB’s Policy Chair, said: ‘VAT compliance flattens small firms by stifling their growth and emptying their coffers. It’s crying out for a modern makeover to match today’s economic landscape. ‘We can’t let it squash the ambitions of small businesses, strivers, and budding entrepreneurs. ‘The flaws in our current system are glaringly obvious. We are at a breaking point – a […]

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