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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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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Online platforms should sign up to Prompt Payment Code

WRLO Accountants — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 20:51:50 +0000

Online platforms should commit to paying small businesses within a maximum of thirty days in line with the Prompt Payment Code, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The FSB has set out a range of proposals to protect small business owners who use online sales platforms to ensure that small firms can make the most of the opportunities of trading online. The business group wants platforms to invest much more in systems to resolve issues for small businesses, including the provision of dedicated complaint and dispute handling resources where these do not already exist. It also says the UK government should consider legislation to make it an offence for an individual to post a fake and malicious online review. Finally, the FSB wants the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate the charging structures of retail platforms and the charging levels of accommodation and food delivery platforms to determine whether these are indicative of monopolistic or oligopolistic behaviour. Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s Policy Chair, said: ‘Small firms are calling out for more to be done on issues like protection of their intellectual property, while platforms should commit to paying businesses as promptly as possible – a figure that […]

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