SME Business News

The coalition Government’s proposals to slash the red tape stifling business growth is welcome news for the UK’s 4.8 million small firms, says the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Research by the FSB shows that nearly a third (27%) of small firms that wanted to expand said the proposed increases in regulation is a difficulty in [...]

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Thousands of small businesses could benefit from the measures outlined in the Coalition Government’s document, Programme for Government, according to the Federation of Private Business (FPB).
The FPBs’ reactions to the agreements are positive, however, they have stated that they will be cautious of any veiled proposals. Head of Policy, Matthew Goodman commented: “I’m sure this [...]

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Contractors working as sole traders or limited companies in a number of UK industries could be among those finding it more difficult to enter Time to Pay agreements with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
New figures have revealed that HMRC rejected 11.2 per cent of all VAT Time to Pay requests in the first quarter of [...]

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The ‘tax on jobs’ had been scheduled to take effect in 2011 – when many analysts anticipate small businesses will be seeking to recruit in earnest in order to meet renewed demand.
Although the 1% employers’ NI rise will still affect staff earning more than £20,800, the threshold at which they begin paying NI on employees [...]

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While the recession may officially be over, trading conditions for Britain’s SMEs remain extremely challenging, with 80% of businesses reporting increased late payment over the past six month according to new research commissioned by Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions, in conjunction with Credit Today.
Almost one in three businesses (32%) questioned in the report currently classified 30% or [...]

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In respect of the hung parliament position, the Asset Based Finance Association, ABFA,  has a clear stance:
“The hung parliament result could seriously hurt the UK’s fragile economic recovery, delivering as it does more uncertainty and risk to businesses. At a time when the country is facing its highest debt ever a clear reduction strategy is [...]

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Business leaders are growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of a hung parliament, which they fear will be too indecisive to take the tough decisions ahead. They also believe VAT will go up after the election, but would prefer that to a National Insurance rise, according to research carried out by the British Chambers of [...]

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Unemployment figures confirm that recovery is still too fragile for small firms to take on more staff, says FSB
As unemployment increased to 2.5 million, new figures from the ‘FSB Voice of Small Business Index’ show that while small firms are slowly moving into recovery they still aren’t in a position to take on more staff. [...]

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The UK’s economy expanded by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year, official figures have revealed.
The rate of GDP growth for the January to March period was lower than had been anticipated on the back of a 0.4 per cent expansion in the last three months of 2009.
According to the Office for [...]

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The Forum of Private Business is advising smaller employers affected by the Icelandic volcano eruption to be flexible with stranded staff – but know when to draw the line on unpaid leave.
Many small businesses are continuing to struggle in the wake of the worst recession in a generation and employers should be aware of the [...]

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