Well, at least the political deadlock is over and the CCC (Cameron Clegg Coalition) have announced their policies. They're going to be pre-occupied with the monster issues of banking reform and budget deficit, but does this spell the end of the nightmare for SMEs?
Just yesterday, the
Federation of Small businesses said a snap poll of their members showed that more than half of SMEs do not feel confident about the economy and 54% say they are putting expansion plans on hold.
And Reuters quoted a Times report that 'the taxman turned down requests from struggling businesses to defer VAT payments of more than £42 million in the first quarter of this year'. That's 11.2% of the total amount businesses asked to delay paying – and more than double the percentage refused in the same period last year.
However, there is reason to be upbeat.
Early reports suggest that Lib Dem Vince Cable is going to be responsible for business and banks and that there is to be a new budget within 50 days. Among the CCC policies agreed are a partial reversal of Labour's planned increase in payroll tax and, according to Reuters, 'a significantly accelerated reduction in the structural budget deficit... the main burden to be borne by reduced spending rather than increased taxes'.
So it seems they're going down the spending cuts rather than the tax increase route. Now let's see if the CCC keep SME interests in mind.
