Business Car Manager: Editor’s Blog
IF THERE was ever an incentive for a small business not to employ more people, then it must be the prospect of government’s intended 1% increase in National Insurance contributions, due to come in April next year (2011).
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) along with several other business organisations, have started campaigning to reverse this decision – seen as a tax on jobs – while at the same time recognising that the government needs to repair the threadbare coffers.
Nevertheless, fewer people working means fewer NIC payments; conversely encouraging more people to work means – yes, you’ve got it – more NI contributions to the government.
Businesses across the country know that it is imperative for the government to begin the difficult job of repairing the public finances. But this NICs increase is a ‘tax on jobs’ – and will discourage companies of all sizes from taking on new staff at a critical point in our economic recovery.
“We urge the government to work with business groups to find alternative ways to close the UK’s budget deficit – beginning with a credible plan to reduce inefficiency in public sector spending. The public sector has to realise that additional taxes on businesses, especially small- and medium-sized companies, must be a last resort, not an easy way forward,” commented an official FSB comminique.
The FSB has put forward these arguments for the government consider.
- Recent analysis by the British Chambers of Commerce, using the government’s own impact assessments, found that employers face a staggering bill of
