Taxation is key to small business vote

The Federation of Small Businesses has unveiled details of its six key principles for a general election year telling candidates that a commitment to fairer and simpler taxes could be the key to millions of votes.

Taxation is one of the FSB's six key principles that are based on responses to a dedicated election email address set up to allow its 185,000 members to feed in their election priorities.

Red tape, employment law and crime all proved to be major concerns for business owners, but a commitment to fairer and simpler taxes for small businesses looks set to be a vote winner.

FSB National Chairman Carol Undy said: "With an average of 6,000 small businesses per constituency, would-be politicians would do well to listen to entrepreneurs.

"Our snapshot suggests that taxation will have the biggest influence over which box business owners tick. Tax cuts will be important at the forthcoming election but small businesses also want a taxation regime that is fairer and less brutal."

On tax, the FSB is calling on the political parties to commit to:

• A £10,000 tax free allowance for firms irrespective of status;
  
• The state, not employers, to administer all benefit payments;
  
• A full review of the Climate Change Levy;
  
• The abolition of the IR35 legislation;
  
• VAT free movement of goods between registered traders;
  
• All business premises with a rateable value of less than £25,000 to benefit from small business rates relief;
  
• Gross payment for small contractors under the Construction Industry Scheme;
  
• The UK to resist further tax harmonisation across the EU and to remain outside the euro-zone.

The five other key issues were freedom from red tape, business-friendly employment policies, investment in skills, crimes against businesses and better support for business from government.

Comments

Some of the comments received by the FSB from small business owners were:

• "The same kind of rights to fairness of treatment between business owners and the government as between employees and employers i.e. late returns not punishable if due to sickness or pregnancy or maternity leave. Compensation for disruption due to tax inspections which find nothing wrong."
• "(I am concerned that the Inland Revenue) may be tempted to go after small businesses with yet another round of punitive "extra" specialised taxes which label small business owners or one-man businesses as a particular type of reprehensible who are rolling in cash because of some kind of tax fraud. This kind of tax seems to make such people criminals unless they can prove themselves innocent."
• "My top 3 election priorities: rationalisation and simplification of tax - extended tax breaks for business and reduction of corporation tax rate encouraging expansion and re-investment."
• "My top three election Issues: 1. tax, 2. tax, 3. tax"
• "Abolish the uncertainty caused by the married persons tax on dividend payments where the Inland Revenue is changing the rules and massively hampering small business start ups, development and growth."